Don’t shut private clinics: Health minister to doctors

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s public health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday asked private doctors not to close their clinics, as this will aggravate the suffering of people during the shutdown in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

Since January 18, the state has admitted 2,531 suspected patients and of them 2,144 people have tested negative.

The state has also quarantined 880 people who have come from highly infected countries.

“Although the number of positive cases are rising, I am satisfied to inform that people are also recovering and by Wednesday, we will release 15 patients who have now recovered after testing positive for the novel coronavirus ,” Tope said on

Facebook live.

Of them, 12 are from Mumbai, two in Pune and one is from Aurangabad, he said.

Following complaints of private doctors not opening their clinics, the minister asked them to restart their services.

“The state has exempted private practitioners from the curfew as people need medical assistance. Do not close down any clinic or medicine shop,” the health minister said.

He also clarified that cough and fever doesn’t mean a person is affected with coronavirus.

“It has come to light that private doctors are asking such patients to get tested for coronavirus. In some cases, they have refused to examine them. This is wrong,” the health minister pointed out.

He also asked people not to boycott people those who have returned from abroad. “In some cases, they were asked to leave the society. It is our responsibility to help them complete 14 days of home quarantine,” the minister said.

Tope also urged people from rural areas not to panic and allow those returning from cities to enter their villages.

“They are our people who had gone out for employment and it is also not necessary that they are positive for coronavirus. We need to show humanity. If they show symptoms, take them to the hospital,” he said.

The health minister has also written a letter to the people of Maharashtra asking them to resolve to stay at home and defeat this epidemic.

He also requested all the religious scholars across religions to work as health workers (Arogyadoot) and create awareness about the epidemic.