Lucknow: A team of doctors and other health workers and police personnel faced the ire of residents of a locality in Moradabad on Wednesday when they went to pick up a patient and his family members.

The incident happened in the Nagphani area of Nawabpura in Moradabad on Wednesday. A number of health workers and police personnel were injured when locals pelted stones at them in which an ambulance and two police vehicles were also damaged.

The administration has decided to impose charges under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against the attackers. Senior officers, including the superintendent of police and district magistrate of Moradabad have reached the spot.

According to reports, a man had been unwell and was admitted to the medical college in the Tirthankar Mahavir University. His samples were sent for testing on April 9 and the report that came on April 13 found him to be coronavirus positive. The man died the same night. Some members of his family were quarantined at facility in IFTM University.

The health and police team, on Wednesday, went to their house to pick up the man's younger brother who had been suffering from fever.

Condemning the attack on the health workers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered strict action against the culprits. He asked senior officials to identify the culprits and to invoke NSA against them.

The driver of the damaged ambulance said, “When we tried to take away the suspected patient and his family members, suddenly a large number of people came out and started saying that those staying in quarantine facilities are not being given food and so they would not let us take the patients. As soon as some policemen stepped forward to intervene, the situation turned hostile and stone pelting started.”

A similar incident was reported from Muzaffarnagar district when police personnel were attacked by residents in Morna village with sticks and rods when they objected to a gathering during the lockdown.

Three personnel were seriously injured and had to be treated at the district hospital. Two of them were later referred to a hospital in Meerut.

So far, 19 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Moradabad and one life has been lost to the virus. The state’s the tally of coronavirus cases touched 660 with 102 new positive cases reported on Tuesday.

Eight deaths have also been recorded across the state, including one death each from Basti, Meerut, Varanasi, Bulandshehar, Moradabad and three in Agra.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh became the first state in the country to start pool testing after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) gave its nod for the same to increase screening of samples and study possible community transmission.

“The ICMR has given permission for testing several samples at a time. This will boost the daily testing capacity of the state health department. A protocol for same will be decided soon,” said Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Tuesday.

Prasad had also announced the commencement of tele-consultation facility in the state. People can call on toll-free number 18001805145 and can consult with the retired Army and government doctors.