Paul Osuyi, Asaba

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba has suspended the indefinite strike which it declared on Thursday night.

The doctors decided to down tools over what they alleged to be constant harassment and threat to their lives by security operatives enforcing the lockdown directive by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in Delta State.

President of ARD at the hospital, Osifo Patrick Nwabunor told Saturday Sun on Friday that the strike was suspended following the intervention of relevant authorities, adding that their three-point demand has been met.

Declaring the strike on Thursday, Nwabunor had listed three conditions that must be met for the strike to be suspended.

The conditions include that no health worker should be harassed when he/she presents a valid means of identification; that items destroyed during the issue between a doctor and the police at Okpanam should replaced; and that adequate security should be provided within the confines of the hospital.

He had alleged that since the lockdown started on April 1, health workers have been witnessing constant harassment allegedly by the police even when they present valid means of identification as essential service providers.

Nwabunor alleged that the harassment came to a climax on Thursday morning when a doctor who was rushing Okpanam for an emergency, was stopped and harassed, adding that when other colleagues came to his rescue, they were allegedly sprayed with teargas.

https://www.sunnewsonline.com/covid-19-asaba-fmc-doctors-suspend-strike/