KATHMANDU, May 18: After a six-year-old girl – admitted to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) – tested positive for coronavirus last week, landlords have not allowed more than 20 medics and health care workers of the hospital to enter their rented rooms.

Following the incident, almost 300 patients, doctors and medical staffers who came in contact with the infected patient were sent to self-quarantine, but landlords have not allowed the entry of at least 20 medics.

“They [doctors and health care workers] have been staying at their friends’ and relatives’ houses as their landlords have not allowed them to enter the rented room. Likewise, eight medics have been staying at a hostel facility in TUTH itself,” said a doctor, who has been staying in self-isolation at a hostel facility on TUTH premises.

According to a doctor at the TUTH, the residential facility of the hospital can accommodate only 64 people.

“They [landlords] have asked for PCR test reports of medical staff. We [medical staff] are already aware about the consequences of the infection. But, the lack of awareness among people has hit medical staff the most,” Dr Anup Upreti told Republica Online, adding that despite directions from the governments to not evict tenants, landlords have been misbehaving with health workers during this time of global pandemic.

After such incidents, staffers at the TUTH have demanded that the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) set up a temporary quarantine facility on the hospital premises itself. However, there has been no response from the ministry yet.

In the meantime, the ministry on Sunday provided 300 RDT kits to the hospital. Likewise, the administration is also initiating talks with the ministry to install a PCR machine at the hospital.

 
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