Up to Rs 5 lakh fine, 7-yr jail term for attacking Covid-19 health workers

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance imposing stringent penalties, including a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, on those found guilty of attacking or harassing health workers treating persons infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It makes violent offences cognisable and non-bailable.
 

The move comes in the wake of reports of assaults on healthcare workers at some places in the country, including in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
 

The ordinance amends the Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA), 1897.  Under the new rules, a person can be imprisoned