MADURAI: With at least 11 cleanliness workers at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) testing positive for Coronavirus infection so far, the hospital management’s decision to scrap the seven-day quarantine leave and the subsequent Covid-19 test of the sanitary workers has raised many an eyebrow.
It was on April 14 that a 36-year-old cleanliness worker at GRH became south Tamil Nadu’s first cleanliness worker at a government hospital to test positive for the infection. He had allegedly shifted patients out of old Covid-19 ward located in the old CEmONC block of the hospital and had also disposed the soiled PPE kits of doctors and nurses.
After a day’s leave when he resumed duty, he was posted at the triage ward for a week until he developed Covid-19 symptoms.In June, the cleanliness workers who complete Covid-19 duty were given a 7-day quarantine leave akin to that of doctors and nurses. All the workers were tested for COVID-19 before they rejoin duty at the hospital.“But, starting July, as per the instructions of the hospital management, the cleanliness workers are no longer given quarantine leave. They have been told to stay at home for just a day after the 7-day duty and are not being subjected to subsequent Covid-19 test before resuming work,” they said.
Sources said that on July 18, nearly 70 cleanliness workers (recruited by two private manpower agencies) who completed their one-week Covid-19 duty (Sunday to Saturday) were told to go to their respective homes and to resume duty after a day. “On Monday, some of the workers associated with one of the manpower agencies took leave on loss of pay while the other agency granted one more day off (Monday) for the workers,” they said.
Speaking to Express, a cleanliness worker said that GRH management had cited the need for more hands when many go on 7-day quarantine leave as the reason.
Another cleanliness worker said that while on Covid-19 duty, the risk of exposure to the infection are higher than that of doctors and nurses since the workers hand out food, snacks, water and also clean/disinfect the rooms and toilets used by Covid-19 patients, thereby becoming their high-risk contacts.
“Cancelling the quarantine leave and doing away with the mandatory post-quarantine Covid-19 test pose grave risk to our family as well as for other patients of the hospital, since it takes a while for symptoms to develop. We might be asymptomatic carriers until then, unknowingly spreading the infection to hundreds,” he said.
He further said that if not for hotel accommodation, the hospital management could at least give them accommodation in any government school or other government facility and could resume the quarantine leave system and testing.
Responding to the issue, a senior official of GRH said that the quarantine leave system for workers would be resumed next weekend with a reduction in the number of days. GRH Dean Dr J Sangumani declined to comment on the issue.
The first case
It was on April 14 that a 36-year-old cleanliness worker at GRH became south Tamil Nadu’s first cleanliness worker at a government hospital to test positive for the infection