During a time when our health care is struggling to keep up with the novel pandemic coronavirus, a cancer hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut published an advertisement in the Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran, stating that the hospital will not accept any new Muslim patients unless the patient and the person accompanying the patient show a negative COVID-19 test.
The ad reads, 'Several Muslim patients are not following the guidelines and they are also misbehaving with hospital staff. For the security of hospital¡¯s staff and patients, the hospital administration requests all new Muslim patients that they and one designated caretaker get tested for COVID-19 and visit the hospital only if their reports are negative'.
However, according to the National Human Rights Commission's charter of patients rights adopted by the health ministry last year, no person can be discriminated against based on their religion or illness.?
The Meerut Police Department responded to the ad on Twitter and said that they have directed the concerned police station to take the required action.
According to The Hindu,?Chief Medical Officer, Jaiprakash?has issued a notice to the hospital.? In the notice, it says that in a secular country like ours, such kind of discrimination?will not be accepted and if the hospital does not provide a credible response, its registration could be cancelled.?
The report also added that?Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Sahni has confirmed that an FIR has been registered against the management of the hospital for picking on a community and hurting its sentiments. He said, "It has come to our notice that material published by the newspapers has hurt the sentiments of a community. We are investigating the case."
The advertisement claims that the number of COVID-19 patients has significantly increased due to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi. It also mentions that most of the patients in Meerut are connected to the gathering.?
It further reads, 'It is due to the ignorance and ill-will of some Muslim brothers that all Muslim brothers will have to suffer for some time. But this is important in larger public interest and also in the interest of Muslim brothers'.
The ad also includes that patients who are in need of immediate medical aid will be admitted but their swabs will be sent to Meerut Medical College for testing and the cost of the same - which is Rs 4,500 - will be paid by the patient.?