650 doctors dead due to Covid-19 in around 2 months

Image Courtesy:indiatvnews.com

As many as 650 doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) died due to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus, said Secretary General Jayesh Lele on June 10, 2021.

In a state-wise break-up of deaths country-wide over the last two months or so, the IMA stated that as many as 109 deaths were recorded in national capital Delhi. Bihar and then Uttar Pradesh follow close behind, indicating no change in state rank in IMA data.

However, a comparison with the June 2 state-wise break-up shows that Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have shown the highest increase in doctors’ death from 67 recognised deaths on June 2, to 79 deaths in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, and from 21 recognised deaths on June 2, to 32 deaths in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Overall, the two data sets show that at least 56 doctors died in India within eight days of which one death remains unknown. 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.

During earlier talks with SabrangIndia, IMA officials said that the family of these health workers could avail compensation via insurance. However, few urban families in Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been able to avail the compensation so far.