SHILLONG, Jan 2: NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member, Dr WR Kharlukhi, on Sunday stated that the country cannot afford shortage of doctors and medical workers in view of the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron.
“We were never out of the pandemic and now we are witnessing the new variant. So we cannot afford to have shortage of doctors and medical staff,” said Kharlukhi.
The Rajya Sabha member had earlier raised the issue of health workers going on strike amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Kharlukhi had said the health workers have been at the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic and their efforts need to be acknowledged. He also stressed that the government should ensure that there is no lack of manpower to combat the pandemic.
Pointing out that as of today, the medical professionals are performing their duties for over 80 hours a week and working at 1/3rd strength than the usual for more than six months, he said that it is a collective responsibility to combat the spread. While one end is giving out everything, the other end, which is the public, should also play their part by being responsible and adhering to the protocols, Kharlukhi added. He said that all the basic precautions in combating the virus are known and the only thing to do is to practice it without fail.
It may be mentioned that while the state government has stated that it is prepared to handle any eventualities, the Opposition Congress had recently attacked the government over the alleged lack of preparedness in various CHCs and PHCs across the state.