Quarantine period of doctors to be treated as 'on duty': Health ministry
New Delhi: The health ministry has asked all the states to treat the quarantine period of doctors and health workers as "on duty" amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to the chief secretaries of the states and Union territories, directors of all the AIIMS and directors and medical superintendents of central government hospitals dated August 6, Joint Secretary in the health ministry Lav Agarwal has said the quarantine period of doctors and health workers for their duties related to COVID-19 shall be treated as "on duty".
The matter was under consideration since it was pointed out in the Supreme Court that in some cases, doctors and health workers, who are quarantined, are being treated as on leave, Agarwal said.
"The matter has since been considered by this Ministry in consultation with the Department of Personnel and Training and it has been decided that the quarantine period of doctors and health workers needs to be treated as on duty," he said.
Those with high-risk exposure to the virus while performing COVID-related duties are required to undergo quarantine for a week initially. Thereafter, a decision shall be taken by the institution concerned on extending the quarantine period by one more week, the letter said.
"This quarantine has been prescribed in larger public interest to stop the spread of the disease," it added.
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6 women dead, 8 persons injured as bus rams into van in Gujarat's Sabarkantha
Sabarkantha (Gujarat) (PTI): Six women were killed and eight other persons injured after a private bus crashed into a van on a highway in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Wednesday, police said.
The van was ferrying women from Modasa in Aravalli district when a speeding bus hit it from behind on National Highway 48 connecting Shamlaji to Himmatnagar in the district, Deputy Superintendent of Police A K Patel said.
According to police, the women were part of a catering team for social events. They were travelling from Modasa in the neighbouring Aravalli district to Hunj village in Himmatnagar to attend a function when they met with the accident.
Six women passengers of the van were killed, Patel said.
Seven other women and the van driver suffered injuries, according to police.
The injured persons were rushed to the Himmatnagar civil hospital. The condition of two of them was critical, the hospital's medical officer, Dr Dhrupad Chauhan, said.
The bodies were sent to a government hospital for a postmortem.
VIDEO | Gujarat: Six persons were killed and four others injured after a private bus rammed into a van on a highway in Sabarkantha district on Wednesday, police said.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 29, 2026
The van carrying passengers was on its way from Shamlaji to Himmatnagar when the speeding bus hit it from… pic.twitter.com/Gvr79LfCvi
