Assam: 2 JMCH doctors resign due to 'COVID-19 work pressure'

Guwahati: Assam's efforts to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic suffered a blow following the resignation of two Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) doctors, reports said.

In a truly bizarre turn of events, as many as two doctors from the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) in Upper Assam have tendered their resignations due to extension in their working hours brought about by the ongoing pandemic situation.

Buckling under the relentless pressures of the pandemic, two Assistant Professors of Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH), Shankarjyoti Parashar, and Priyanka Changmai, have reportedly resigned from their jobs today. Parashar and Changmai reportedly sent their resignations to the authorities of the JMCH.

The duo has reportedly decided to hang up their boots due to the hectic schedule in view of the ongoing pandemic as well as the risk-factor to doctors' health as they constantly come in contact with COVID-19 patients, albeit with the added protection of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

The resignation of these two doctors has come in the midst of a sharp spike in the rate of COVID-19 infections among health care personnel in the state.

Health workers told IndiaSpend that the COVID-19 spike among health care workers intensified in August, increasing from 720 on July 28 to 1,143 by the second week of August – a 59% rise in cases.

By July 27, as many as 720 health workers had tested positive for the dreaded contagion in the state, S Lakshmanan, the state director of the National Health Mission, Assam, revealed.

National Health Mission officials at a plasma donation drive reported that 1,143 health workers had contracted Covid-19 by August 10– a rise of 59% in about two weeks. Of those affected, two cases (both doctors) turned fatal.

On July 19, Abhijit Sarma, the Gauhati Medical College, and Hospital's superintendent and associate professor in the department of surgery, tested positive for the virus. He has since made a recovery.

Also Watch: Get Set Global: Assam for Global Assamese & Their Contributions