Over 600 attacks on health workers since February in connection with COVID-19, says ICRC

GENEVA, Switzerland — More than 600 attacks on health workers have been reported in connection with the COVID-19 crisis, the Red Cross warned Tuesday, urging countries to rein in the misinformation fueling the violence.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had registered a total of 611 reports of violence, harassment or stigmatization against health workers, patients and medical infrastructure linked to the pandemic.

But it stressed in a statement that the incidents, registered across more than 40 countries between February and July, only covered those that were known, and that the actual figure is likely much higher.

"This crisis has put healthcare workers in harm's way at a time when they are needed the most," said Maciej Polkowski, head of ICRC's Health Care in Danger initiative.

"This atmosphere of fear, which is often compounded by a lack of adequate personal protective equipment, is adding significant stress to their physical and mental health and that of their families," he said.

More than 20 percent of the cases involved physical assaults, while 15 percent were incidents of "fear-based discrimination," and another 15 percent were verbal assaults or threats, ICRC said.

Among the incidents focused on a specific person, a full 67 percent targeted health personnel, while nearly a quarter targeted the wounded and sick, including suspected COVID-19 patients, while five percent targeted displaced people and refugees.

"Fear of contracting the disease and the lack of basic knowledge concerning COVID-19 are often the underlying reasons behind violent acts against healthcare personnel and patients," Esperanza Martinez, ICRC's head of health, said in the statement.

The organisation found that when patients or their relatives were behind the reported acts, grievances linked to a relative's death or fear that they would die were the most common motives.

Some aggressive incidents were also motivated by being denied the right to carry out burials or other rituals due to COVID-19 restrictions, it said.

ICRC urged governments and communities to address misinformation fueling the incidents, and to ensure health workers can do their jobs safely.

"To protect health care staff, medical facilities and patients from violence, it is of paramount importance to disseminate accurate information regarding the origin and modes of transmission and prevention of COVID-19," Martinez said. — Agence France-Presse