NEW DELHI Some doctors combating India’s coronavirus outbreak have been evicted fromtheir homes by force, a medical association said onWednesday, dueto fearsthat they may be infected and spread the disease to neighbors. The country went into a 21-day lockdown onWednesday, and experts have said it faces a tidal wave of infections if rigorous steps are not taken to keep the virus in check. India’s public healthcareinfrastructure is poor and it suffers from an acute shortage ofmedical staff,whowill generally see many patients over a short period. Some doctorsintemporary residences had been forcefully evicted by their landlords over infection fears, the Resident Doctor’sAssociation of theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi said. “[They] are now stranded onthe roads withalltheirluggage, nowhereto go,across the country,”the association— which represents 2,500 doctors — said in a letter to the federal homeminister onTuesday, urging the government to intervene. LateonTuesday India’sHealthMinister Harsh Vardhan, himself a doctor, said on Twitter hewas “deeply anguished”to see reports of doctors being ostracized in residential complexes, addingthat precautions were beingtakentoensurehealthcareworkerswere not carriers oftheinfection.—Reuters
