Putting up boards outside homes of COVID-19 patients is leading to social discrimination: HDK

Urging the State government to stop putting up boards outside the homes of COVID-19 patients, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday said this amounted to social discrimination, besides leading to “untouchability”.

“Identifying COVID-19 patients by way of putting up warning boards is resulting in ostracization of the families. They have to live with respectability after coming out of the infection. The government should immediately stop this practice,” he tweeted.

“Instead of creating social discrimination by putting up warning boards, the government should send health workers to their homes to instil confidence among the patients and create awareness. Patients and their family members should be informed about their responsibility to not come out of their homes. I urge Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to focus his attention on this issue and stop shaming people,” he said.

Reminding the State government that the power to cancel the licence of private medical colleges rested with the Medical Council of India, Mr. Kumaraswamy, in another tweet, said, “It is wrong of any hospital to deny treatment. However, it is also not right on the part of the government to threaten [them] with cancellation of licence. No benefit is to be derived out of this threat in this time of crisis.”

The JD(S) leader said that instead of being issued threats, colleges should be taken into confidence and their services sought. “The government should also meet the needs of the colleges. It should start a cooperative movement to meet the threat of the infection.”