Two used protective gowns, found abandoned on the roadside in the heart of this steel town on Wednesday morning, sparked panic, but the local authorities burnt them once word reached them to ensure there was no further danger of contamination.

Civil surgeon A. K. Pathak has ordered a probe, saying that improper disposal of protective gowns or PPEs carried the risk of spreading infection triggered by the coronavirus.

The needle of suspicion has fallen on an ambulance driver and helper who were spotted wearing similar white colour PPEs on Tuesday night when they reachad reached Bokaro General Hospital (BGH) to drop off a Covid patient from the quarantine centre at Gomia.

“It is difficult to identify who is behind such negligence, but there were two PPE’s of white colour,” said Diwakar Dwivedi, circle officer of Chas after visiting the spot.

Patarkatta Chowk, the spot where the PPE kits were found is mid-way between BGH and Sadar Hospital. Civil surgeon Pathak said all those running ambulances have been asked to adhere to disposal norms of PPEs. They have told to sanitise the vehicle after transporting any patient.

“As per protocol Covid ambulance staff come to sadar hospital to sanitise their vehicle. They are also supposed to put their used PPEs in a disposal bag which is later burnt by trained staff. Throwing used PPE’s on the road is a gross violation of these norms,” Patahk said, adding that he had instituted an inquiry.

Chas SDO Shashi Prasad Singh said the circle officer reached the spot soon after receiving the information. “They burnt the PPEs then and there. I have asked the civil surgeon to ensure that such negligence is never repeated,” he said.

The local administration is also looking at private hospitals and clinics to ensure they were following the protocol for disposing of medical waste.