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India has lost 594 doctors in second wave of COVID-19, says medical body IMA

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Jun 02, 2021, 12:33 PM IST
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A doctor dies due to COVID-19 in West Bengal Photograph:(ANI)

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Out of these, 107 doctors belonged to the capital city, New Delhi, which was one of the worst affected areas in the country

The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on everybody and especially for the medical professionals who have been helping patients every day. Many medical experts have exposed themselves to the deadly virus and that has put their lives in extreme danger.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) has revealed that nearly 594 doctors have lost their lives to this pandemic during the second wave while serving others.

Out of these, 107 doctors belonged to the capital New Delhi, which was one of the worst affected areas in the country.

After Delhi, Bihar lost the most number of doctors, i.e. 96, followed by 67 in Uttar Pradesh and 43 in Rajasthan. New Delhi, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh together account for 45 per cent of doctor deaths in the country’s second wave.

In total, the country has lost more than 1,300 doctors since the pandemic hit in the early months of 2020.

Some doctors have also lost their lives or have been critically injured after being attacked by family members or mobs in the hospitals or medical clinics while caring for patients and saving the lives of those infected by the coronavirus. The IMA has also urged the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, to bring in stricter laws against healthcare violence.

"There are many incidents of healthcare violence taking place across the country. Doctors and healthcare staff is finding it difficult to work under the stress of violence. Healthcare violence has become an alarming phenomenon across the country. The real size of the problem is largely unknown and recent information shows that the current knowledge is the tip of the iceberg," the letter read.

"India needs a comprehensive, uniform and effective law against the healthcare violence. We request you to kindly approve an effective and strong act against the healthcare violence," it added.