Maha nurses association writes to CM Uddhav, question decision to call nurses from Kerala

United Nurses Association on Tuesday wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saying that while nurses from Kerala were being called in to tackle the growing COVID-19 cases in the state, about 129 nurses in Maharashtra were still waiting to be called to duty. The Maharashtra government recently decided to bring in about 100 nurses from Kerala to help fight the pandemic. The United Nurses Association stated that all these measures by the state were nothing but 'temporary' in nature and that the state needed permanent employment of nurses to up the healthcare facilities amid the pandemic.

They also revealed that Mumbai and Pune had been employing over 550 nurses on a 3-month contract basis suggesting that what was needed was a long term approach like the one adopted by states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu who had rushed to employ as many nurses as they could on a permanent basis. 

The nurses association said that being hired on a short-term basis was unfair since there was a discrepancy in the pay of permanent nurses and contractual employees. Amid lapses in compensation, there could also be possible lapses in rehabilitation and facilities for the short-term nurses, the letter said.

"Instead of recurring to short-cuts by bringing a fresh contingent of nurses from another state, we urge your government to offer an option for decent employment and working conditions to nurses already in Maharashtra who are ready to work in dignified conditions," concluded the letter. 

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Coronavirus in Maharashtra

Maharashtra continued its steep increase with 2436 new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and 60 deaths, on Monday. 1186 patients were discharged taking the total recoveries to 15,786. The state's total count stands at 52,667 and 1695 deaths with Mumbai contributing to 31,972 cases and 1026 deaths. 

After extending lockdown till May 31, the state has divided its COVID-19 zones as “red zones” and “non-red zones", instead of red, orange, and green zones - based on death count and doubling rate. As per the new definition, Maharashtra's red zones are Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgoan, Akola and Amravati, while the rest of the state are non-red zones. While stringent restrictions prevalent in the previous red zones, the rest of the state has been allowed to open up as per MHA's Lockdown 4.0 guidelines.

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