New Delhi, April 20, 2020: The National Commission for Women, a federal body, has sought stern action against a hospital in Jharkhand that reportedly turned away a pregnant woman after accusing her of spreading coronavirus.
The hospital allegedly made the woman to clean up blood that led her losing the unborn child.
“A woman pregnant & bleeding, came to a Jamshedpur hospital, was allegedly asked to clean up her blood, accused of spreading coronavirus, which led to loss of her unborn child. NCW has written to Chief Secretary @JharkhandCMO for strict action,” the women’s rights body tweeted on April 19.
The Indian Express newspaper reported that 30-year-old Rizwana Khatun had written to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, narrating her ordeal on April 16 when she was rushed to a hospital in Jamshedpur after she started bleeding. The women reportedly said she was abused because of her religion and that she was asked to wipe her blood.
The Jharkhand Police have taken cognizance of the incident and the Jamshedpur Senior Superintendent of Police has been asked to inquire into the matter.
“It’s unfortunate to learn the insensitiveness of the health professionals as alleged in the media report, and during the challenging times like COVID19 pandemic, NCW apprises the govt. to implement proper institutional delivery to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in future,” the NCWomen said in another tweet.
More than 17,000 coronavirus cases, including 543 deaths, have been reported from across India as of April morning. Jharkhand has seen 42 cases including two deaths.
Source: ndtv.com