Growing concern over the spread of coronavirus was evident at the local government medical college in Yavatmal, Maharashtra where laundry service staff refused to wash clothes from the isolation ward which has three Covid-19 patients and another four under observation.
The ward staff on Monday, 16 March, gave the isolation ward clothes like bed sheets, curtains etc for cleaning to the 'dhobi', who also washes clothes of other wards.
However, people responsible for cleaning the clothes refused to wash the clothes belonging to isolation ward, fearing infection from them.
“We fear that we will catch the coronavirus infection if we touch these clothes,” said Ashok Chaudhary, a washerman.
Meanwhile, total number of positive cases of coronavirus has risen to 45 in Maharashtra, while one person has been declared dead according to the state health ministry.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 169 in the country, including 141 Indian nationals and 25 foreign nationals, the Health Ministry said.
As COVID-19 cases swell worldwide, China on Thursday claimed it had no new domestic cases of the novel coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but reported a spike in infections imported from abroad, AFP reported.