Healthcare workers here and around the world have been lauded for their dedication to care during the course of this long-running Covid-19 pandemic. From working long hours to sacrificing family contact to risking their lives to care for the ill, they have been - and still are - the front-line soldiers in the battle to keep the virus at bay. So it is appalling to learn that there has been a rising number of abusive incidents against healthcare workers over the past three years. According to the Ministry of Health, there were 1,080 cases reported at public healthcare institutions in 2018. The number rose to 1,200 in 2019 and to 1,300 last year. Evidently, the pandemic was not the only thing raging in hospitals. Cases have ranged from verbal abuse to outright violence, including molestation and physical attacks.

This is patently unacceptable.