Infected doctor undergoing treatment for COVID-19 (pictured)
Aizawl:
A case against a doctor, who treated patients with COVID-19 at a public hospital and was later found positive, and two other medical staff were registered on Thursday for defying the lockdown and breaking safety rules while playing in futsal, police said.
The FIR was filed against the doctor working at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) and the two staff members of the city hospital and the Grace Nursing Home and Research Center of the Bawnkawn Police Station over a complaint by activist Vanramchhuangi alias Ruatfela Nu.
In his complaint, Ruatfela said a section of the media reported that the doctor, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, was playing futsal with the other two people that same evening in the locality of Durtlang Leitan here.
The administrations of the two hospitals were also included in the FIR.
Futsal (also known as ftsal or footsal) is a ball sport played on a hard court, smaller than a soccer field, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football.
The infected doctor is undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at ZMC, health department officials said.
The state government sent a show cause notice to the doctor during the day to seek clarification as to why he was released at a time when he should remain in isolation, official sources said.
Ruatfela alleged the doctor was dealing with COVID-19 patients and a sample collection before testing positive, adding that he was awaiting the result of his swab test.
She called for legal action against the doctor for “acting unscrupulously to spread the deadly virus and endanger the safety of others.”
She also claimed that the administration of the two hospitals allowed their staff to organize sporting events despite the curfew and therefore did not follow the government’s order.
However, Grace Nursing Home and Research Center, General Manager Johny Zahming, denied that the sporting event was organized by the administration.
He said staff from both hospitals organized a friendly match themselves and invited the doctor because he had previously worked at the research center.
