Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh authorities Sunday withdrew its order prohibiting use of cell phones by sufferers in isolation wards of COVID-19 hospitals, a senior official stated.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi stated, “The government has withdrawn its order prohibiting the use of mobile phones by COVID-19 patients in isolation wards.”
He stated the Medical Education Department has now issued a brand new order in accordance with which, “Patients getting admitted to the COVID-19 isolation ward will have to give details of mobile phone, mobile number and mobile charger. The patient, who is getting admitted to the ward will have to first get the charger and mobile phone disinfected.”
Mr Awasthi additionally stated that sufferers can hold the charger and the cell phone with them.
“Mobile phones will not be given to any health worker or attendant. Since, we are worried about the patient, hence the Medical Education Department issued orders that all the belongings of the patient will be disinfected,” Mr Awasthi stated.
Earlier within the day, questioning the federal government’s choice to ban coronavirus sufferers from utilizing cell phones inside isolation wards of COVID-19 hospitals, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had claimed the ban was put in place to cover the “poor condition” of hospitals within the state.
In a tweet in Hindi, the previous UP chief minister stated: “If infection spreads through mobile phones, then mobile phones should be banned across the country. Mobile phones provide mental support and help cope with loneliness.”
“In fact, the ban has been put in place, so that the truth about the poor condition of hospitals does not reach the common public. The need is to sanitise mobile phones and not impose a ban on them,” he stated.
Director General Medical Education KK Gupta had directed all medical universities, institutes, non-public and authorities hospitals to ban using cell phones by COVID-19 sufferers admitted in L-2 and L-Three COVID-19 hospitals.
He had additionally directed that the in-charge of COVID-19 hospitals be offered two cell phones, in order that sufferers admitted there might communicate to their members of the family and vice-versa.