Madhya Pradesh IAS officer in full PPE gear while doctors standing next to him wear masks. Picture goes viral

At a time when doctors and healthcare workers are facing an acute shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) required while treating coronavirus patients, a Rajasthan doctor has shared an image that clears the picture. In the photo shared by the doctor, an IAS officer is seen wearing full PPE gear while medical staff standing next to him are in normal clothes and wearing just a surgical mask.

The picture has since gone viral with many accusing the government and politicians of diverting PPE kits made for doctors to the VVIPs. The doctor's tweet accompanied a small message in which he has questioned the promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "When an IAS officer wears a full PPE kit and doctors wear normal clothes and mask......I don't think Modi's promise is working here," the doctor wrote.

The picture is from Indore, a coronavirus hotspot in Madhya Pradesh. Around 70 per cent of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh are from Indore. The picture truly depicts the plight of India's healthcare professionals as they battle the deadly coronavirus pandemic at the frontline.

Shortage of PPE kits for healthcare workers

It has also come at a time when more than 50 doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff have contracted the coronavirus from the patients they had been treating. Medical staff in hospitals across the country have been facing the shortage of protective equipment needed while treating the infected.

Even in the country's one of the most premier hospital, AIIMS Delhi had been battling with the shortage of PPE kits till as recent as last month. In Delhi's Hindu Rao Hospital, several doctors and nurses have tendered their resignations due to the shortage of PPE gears.

Notably, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned that the disruption in the supply of PPE caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak is putting lives of the medical staff at the risk. The WHO urged industry and governments to increase the manufacturing of PPE by 40 per cent to meet the rising demand.