Hisar admin to take care of families of medical staff fighting COVID-19

To ensure doctors and paramedics fighting the coronavirus pandemic don't have to worry about their families back home, Haryana's Hisar administration has launched an initiative to take care of basic needs and ensure essential supplies to them, a senior official said on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Soni said the medical staffers are working round-the-clock to stop the virus from spreading further and there are times when they are unable to go home.

"In such a situation they should not have to worry about ration supply and other needs back home," Soni said, adding that the Hisar administration has tied up with the District Red Cross Society and launched 'Dhanvantri Sewa', under which volunteers will home deliver essential items to these families.

 

Soni said the medical staff only need to register their requirements via the dedicated helpline 9992220950 and goods will be delivered to their homes.

"We have assured them that they need not worry about basic needs back home," Soni told PTI over phone.

The initiative is likely to boost the morale of the medical professionals at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic that has killed 17 and infected more than 700 people across the country. In Haryana, the number of coronavirus cases has reached 19.

The government has locked down the country for 21 days and asked people to not step out of their homes unless necessary. Doctors, too, have appealed to people through social media to stay home.

The Hisar administration has also started supplying cooked food packets for Rs 25 each to Dharamsalas, old-age homes, or to those who are old and living alone and to the physically challenged.

"We have also started distribution of dry ration to poor sections of society in all sub-divisions of Hisar district free of charge which includes covering 4,000 families of slum dwellers," she said.

So far, 1,500 slum families have been provided with 5kg flour, 1kg cooking oil, sugar, masalas and other items, the DC added.