Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan warns of action if lapses found in COVID-19 treatment

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has warned of strict action against the medical staff if any lapses were found in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state.

He also asked senior doctors to visit the COVID-19 wards in hospitals on a daily basis to ensure that the patients are being treated well.

Chouhan gave this direction during a meeting held via video-conference on Saturday to review the coronavirus situation in the state.

"The chief minister said that even the slightest negligence and lapses in treatment will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the medical staff," a public relations department official said.

"The CM said that the state-run Hamidia Hospital (in Bhopal) should play the role of an ideal hospital and efforts should be made to reduce the mortality rate there," he said.

According to the official, Chouhan also instructed Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Health, to give him daily report of treatment in Hamidia Hospital and also asked him to ensure that senior doctors visit the COVID-19 wards daily.

During the meeting, the chief minister also said that there was no need for e-passes for movement of people within MP and they are required only for travel outside the state.

State Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains said that e- passes will henceforth be auto-generated.

Chouhan said that as the number of coronavirus cases in Neemuch district was rising, special attention should be paid there.

The health officials said that there were 199 COVID-19 cases in that district.

The number of coronavirus cases in the state till Saturday night was 7,891, of which 3,104 were active cases. The virus has so far claimed 343 lives.