Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and hazmat suits to doctors in the state.
Hearing a PIL filed by the High Court registrar, acting chief justice Sanju Panda and justice Biswanath Rath ordered the state government to procure necessary quantities of safety equipment and provide them to doctors.
Besides, the bench asked the government to take necessary steps to fill the doctor vacancies given the likely need for large numbers of doctors and specialists needed to treat COVID-19 patients.
Further, the court ordered the government to direct the police department to allow unrestricted movement of patients and their relatives.
Meanwhile, within hours of the court order, the Odisha State Medical Corporation ordered 20 lakh three-layered masks, a source said.
The order came days after the Odisha Medical Service Association, a body of state government doctors, said that that there was an acute shortage of protective kits for doctors and healthcare service providers at the district level.
PNN