MYSURU: The fight against the novel coronavirus faces a new challenge in the city, as around 150 cleaning staff of K R Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital refused to continue their work apprehending social ostracism in their villages. They fear that they will be boycotted by their fellow villagers who feel that they carry the dreaded virus. Many of them said they were told not to return to the villages for a few weeks. They now wish to give up their jobs as they don’t want to carry the “stigma”, they said.
Although they have responded to the hospital authorities’ pleas not to apply for leave and to work overtime during the current medical emergency, their own concerns weigh heavily on their minds, they said. Doctors at the hospitals fear that a shortage of cleaning staff will worsen the situation. MCC and RI director C P Nanjaraja said they have provided accommodation and food to the cleaning staff. He said many of them have wished to quit, but they were dissuaded from doing so as their work is vital.