For tests, ministers, officers demand ‘doorstep service’ in Punjab

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 11

While people have to slog in long queues in hospitals for getting tested for Covid-19, some IAS officers and ministers have asked doctors to collect their samples from their homes.

In the last week, some IAS, PCS and police officers have been found Covid positive. Following this, there was a widespread panic among bureaucrats and politicians. In some cases, they ordered government doctors to visit their residences for the collection of their and their families’ samples for Covid-19 tests.

According to sources in the Health Department, two Punjab cadre IAS officers, one from the 2003 batch and another from the 2005 batch, who had suspicion of coming into contact with Covid

positive persons, sent messages to the State Covid

Control Room to depute doctors to collect samples from their residences.

However, health officials expressed their reluctance to do so, citing a huge rush in the hospitals.

Another Punjab cadre IAS officer of the 1997 batch also asked the doctors to visit his home for the collection of samples. When he was requested to come to the district hospital, he wanted the premises to be vacated before his visit. When health officials told him that was not possible, he visited the hospital and his swab sample was collected while he sat in his official car parked outside the hospital.

Some onlookers and patients lodged protest over the VIP treatment given to the bureaucrat.

At the same time, some senior IAS officers visited government hospitals for Covid tests without any fuss.

Sources said an officer posted in the CMO recently visited a government hospital like a common man and gave his sample. In the last two days, health teams also visited houses of some ministers to collect samples.

Significantly, in the last one week around 10 PCS and two IAS officers have tested positive for Covid.