Chandigarh lockdown relaxations retrograde step: PGI doctors  

Doctors at the prestigious PGI hospital here have slammed the Chandigarh Administration for its decision to allow daily relaxation in the lockdown from Saturday, says it was a retrograde step.

"We just now came to know that the Chandigarh Administration is allowing opening all the shops related to chemists, vegetables, fruits, meat, grocery etc. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day," a statement by Faculty Association of PGIMER General Secretary Arun Bansal said.

"We, the medical fraternity and the Faculty Association of PGIMER, Chandigarh, strongly oppose this step. This will defeat the purpose of social distancing and quarantine. It will be impossible to maintain social distancing when the shops are open.

"The medical fraternity is struggling to ensure steps to contain the spread of the virus, arrange personal protective equipments for the healthcare staff, arrange special wards and ICUs for the impending epidemic. The only way to contain this virus is by prevention. In no way we will be able to handle this disease if it reaches the proportion of countries like Italy, China, etc," he said.

"Our Prime Minister has announced a package worth crores of rupees to fight this epidemic. All that money will also be of no use, if the epidemic reaches in Stage III or IV. We don't know under whose able advice this step has been taken, Bansal added.

The decision to open all essential item shops was decided at a meeting held under the chairmanship of V.P. Singh Badnore, Governor, Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, here on Friday.

A 22-year-old youth from Chandigarh and a 40-year-old woman from nearby Mohali tested positive on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the tricity to 14.
-IANS