NEW DELHI, Sept 20 (NNN-PTI) – The upper house (locally called Rajya Sabha) of Indian parliament, yesterday passed the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to punish those who attack health workers, including doctors fighting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or any situation similar to the current outbreak, officials said.
The legislation provides for up to five years of imprisonment and a fine for those who attack doctors and health care personnel.
The federal government implemented the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, in order to provide protection to health care service personnel, their living premises, as well as, their workplaces against any violence, during the course of a pandemic.
Federal health minister, Harsh Vardhan, while introducing the bill in the upper house, said, the ordinance introduced in Apr led to a fall in cases of violence against healthcare workers.
“We have all noticed that, there has been a dramatic decline in the incidents of violence against health workers all over the country,” the minister said.
“Many healthcare workers, including doctors, paramedics, were insulted in some form or other, due to the stigma attached to COVID-19. The government acted on this situation and found that there was a need for a law, a prohibitory mechanism against such incidents.”
The legislation aims at developing an attitude of zero tolerance towards violence against people working in the healthcare sector.– NNN-PTI
