It has been over a week since resident doctors from all over Gujarat, including from the districts of Surat, Vadodara, and Jamnagar, have been on strike over the government’s retraction of the 1:2 ratio bond agreement that was announced last year when the coronavirus pandemic hit. The strike was announced on the evening of 4 August after a meeting of doctors with the state health commissioner, wherein the latter denied that bond rule will be changed back to 1:2 from the pre-pandemic 1:1.
In April, when several doctors already under bond duty, were told to work at COVID-dedicated hospitals due to increased caseload. The state health department notified that the duration of duty of doctors who signed the bond, and were serving at COVID-19 hospitals, will be considered for double, ie 1:2 ratio of COVID duty to the bond-service period (The Quint has accessed this document).