Different colored bed sheets are now mandatory in India's public hospitals as part of efforts to improve hygiene and infection control, according to an article on the Times of India website.

The union health ministry has directed 19 of its major hospitals to use different colored bed sheets on different days of the week. The step would help ensure that bed sheets are changed every day.

According to the order, white bed sheets would be used on Mondays, pink on Tuesdays, green on Wednesdays, yellow on Thursdays, violet, lavender or purple on Fridays, blue on Saturdays and peach or light grey on Sundays.

The health ministry officials have received several complaints over the last few months of increase in infections at public health facilities, with one of the reasons being use of the same bed sheets for several days even if the bed is allotted to a new patient.

Read the article.