Jharkhand: Government teachers on Covid duty demand PPE gear

RANCHI: Several government school teachers on Friday demanded the state government provide them with PPE kits since many of them are on pandemic duty and have not been given protective gear despite them serving in the Covid hospitals and isolation centres for months. Besides safety gear, the teachers have demanded an insurance coverage of Rs 50 lakh.
In a letter to chief secretary Sukhdev Singh, the Akhil Jharkhand Prathmik Sikshak Sangh (AJPSS) has sought PPE kits for teachers on Covid duty. AJPSS has requested the government to refrain from deploying teachers at the intensive care units and even if it does, those above 50 years should be exempted from it.
AJPSS’s chief spokesman Nasim Ahmad said, “Ever since the advent of the second wave of coronavirus, teachers are being posted for Covid duty and many are likely to get infected and subsequently, infect their family members. The government should ensure a high grade treatment for them and ensure an insurance coverage of Rs 50 lakh.”
Similarly, the Ekikrit Para Sikshak Sangarsh Morcha has requested chief minister Hemant Soren for protective gear. It said that the para-teachers are surviving on a paltry honorarium and their family would face hardships if they get infected. The para-teachers demanded insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh and all the necessary protective equipment.
The teachers said that the lack of adequate safety gear will only deepen the Covid crisis rather than contain its spread.