UP govt banned mobile phones inside COVID-19 hospitals to hide their poor condition: Akhilesh

Questioning the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to prohibit coronavirus patients from using mobile phones inside isolation wards of COVID-19 hospitals, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the ban was put in place to hide the "poor condition" of hospitals in the state.

In a tweet in hindi, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said: "If infection spreads through mobile phones, then they should be banned across the country. Mobile phones provide mental support and help cope with loneliness.

In fact, the ban has been put in place, so that the truth about the poor condition of hospitals does reach the common public. The need is to sanitise mobile phones and not impose a ban on them," he said.

Director General Medical Education K K Gupta has directed all the medical universities, institutes, private and government hospitals to ban the use of mobile phones by COVID-19 patients admitted in L-2 and L-3 COVID-19 hospitals.

He also directed in-charge of COVID-19 hospitals be provided two mobile phones, so that patients admitted there could speak to there family members and vice-versa.