Pleased with India's steps to protect healthcare workers combating Coronavirus: US

"Pleased to see #India is taking additional steps to protect healthcare workers on the front lines combating #COVID19. These heroes are working tirelessly to protect their communities. AGW," The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) tweeted quoting Wells.

In a landmark step to protect the health workers in the wake of several attacks on doctors treating COVID-19 patients, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday passed an ordinance to award a strict punishment to the guilty.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the attackers of health workers can now be imprisoned from six months to seven years.

The guilty can also be penalised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.

Amending the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the government has made the attack on health workers as a "non-bailable offence".

The announcement has been made after Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan interacted with doctors and representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in the morning.

Following the meeting, Shah on Twitter said, "The way our doctors are performing their duties in these testing times is exceptional. I urge every Indian to cooperate with doctors in this fight against COVID-19."

The death toll due to COVID-19 in India has touched 775, as per government data released on Saturday.

The total number of people hit by the highly infectious disease in the country now stands at 24,506.

India witnessed 57 deaths in the country in the past 24 hours.

There are 18,668 active cases in the country right now.

So far, 5062 people have been cured or discharged from hospitals.