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| - The governor of Russia's Chechnya said medics who complained about a lack of coronavirus protection were "provocateurs" who should be fired, after they retracted their statements on a loyalist channel. Medics last week complained of a lack of masks in their hospital in the town of Gudermes, with some even gathering to protest. "Provocateurs should be dismissed," strongman Ramzan Kadyrov said at a government meeting, TASS reported Monday. He called one of the doctors who made an audio recording about a fellow medic's death from the virus a "lunatic." Chechnya's Grozny TV, which is controlled by the regional government, issued a 20-minute report in which several doctors were filmed, many with eyes cast down, saying they were incorrect to complain. Kadyrov is known for his harsh reaction to criticism, with Chechen whistleblowers often tracked down and forced to apologise. Grozny TV showed images of protective suits and masks, saying that the clinic in Gudermes has more than enough. It claimed doctors who complained were not supposed to be treating the infection in the first place. "I wasn't aware about the availability of protective equipment," doctor Ayub Nalayev told the channel. "We should not have panicked like that." "We have raised a problem that does not exist," he said, wearing what looked like a homemade gauze mask on camera. Audio and video circulating in Chechen WhatsApp groups said there was little protective equipment for doctors, who gathered near the clinic in protest, according to opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The paper is one of few to report from Chechnya, and its reporter Yelena Milashina said Kadyrov issued an unambiguous call for violence against her after she wrote about his coronavirus policies. Chechnya has reported that 966 people have tested positive and 10 died from effects of the coronavirus. ma/
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