New Delhi: As many as 719 doctors died due to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus, says the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Most deaths — 111– occurred in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, IMA secretary general Jayesh Lele told reporters on June 12 in New Delhi.
Delhi came second with 109 coronavirus-related fatalities among doctors.
Uttar Pradesh (79), West Bengal (63) and Rajasthan (43) were the other Covid-19-hit states, the IMA said.
Earlier on June 7, the association had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his personal intervention to resolve the pleas put forward by the apex medical body concerning the safety of the medical professionals.
The IMA letter urged the prime minister to ensure a safe work environment so that the doctors and all other health care workers can discharge their duties without any fear.
The IMA had also highlighted that more than 1,400 doctors had lost their lives since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in India.
A total of 1.25 million doctors serve more than 1.39 billion people in India, as of 2020.
Meanwhile, India recorded 84,332 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours , its lowest after 70 days, the data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on June 12. The total number of coronavirus active cases has now declined to less than 1,080,690 after over two months. There were also 4,002 fresh coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours.
India now has a total of 29.3 million infections, of which, 367,081 people have died of the virus.
As per the IMA website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives in 2020 while working during the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, within the first half of 2021, the second wave is inching closer to last year’s toll. During an online workshop earlier, Lele has voiced his concern about the physical assault on doctors that is highlighted in the current health crisis. As per The Hindu, he said the medical fraternity was vulnerable to such attacks in the absence of adequate mechanisms to ensure their safety.
Source: zeebews.india.com
The pro rata number of priests dying in this period seems at least 10 times that of doctors, who were the frontline warriors. The CBCI and CHAI need to thoroughly investigate the causes for this.