The concerns of the Opposition parties are slowly coming true. There seems to be a severe shortage of critical equipment to insulate the medical staff from contracting the corona virus in various hospitals in AP. In what can be disturbing to well-meaning people, four medical workers were tested positive for corona virus in Anantapur.

The medical staff was treating a 58-year-old man from Hindupur town, who had passed away due to Covid-19 recently, said DMHO Anil Kumar. Seven others have also tested positive in the district, taking the total number of positive cases to 13. The DMHO assigned the blame to the four medical workers saying they could have contracted the virus because of some lapses in treating the patient. DMHO did not disclose if the medical workers were provided with adequate equipment to treat the corona affected patients.

The health ministry should assess the situation and ascertain how the four medical workers contracted the virus. In the past, TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had raised serious concerns over the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at various hospitals and that the doctors and medical staff were most vulnerable as they are engage in treating the corona virus patients.

The state government should order an impartial probe into the issue and find out if there is any shortage of critical medical equipment.