IMA writes to PM Modi; seeks Centre's intervention to prevent doctors' deaths due to COVID

As doctors succumb to the deadly Coronavirus, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote a letter on Saturday, requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter. This comes as almost 196 doctors have died across the country due to Coronavirus infection.

Urging PM Modi to take stock of the issue, IMA in its letter requested the former to give attention to the issue for the safety of doctors who are losing their lives in the fight against the COVID crisis. "Since a significant proportion of the population consult general practitioners due to fever and its related symptoms, they remain the first point of contact as well as care," read the letter.

"IMA represents over 3.5 lakh doctors spread across the country providing next door affordable healthcare, so it is pertinent to mention that COVID does not differentiate between government and private sector and affects all. Also disturbing are the reports that state the doctors and their family members are not getting beds for admission and deficiency of drugs in most of the cases. IMA thus requests the government of India to pay adequate attention to the safety and welfare of doctors during the pandemic," said Dr Rajan Sharma, national president of IMA.

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India's Total COVID-19 Tally Crosses 20-lakh Mark

India’s total Coronavirus cases topped 20 Lakh-mark on Friday, taking the nationwide tally to 20,27,074. The country is only behind Brazil, which has more than 2.9 million cases and the US, which is worst by the pandemic, with close to 5 million cases.

A sharp surge of 62,538 new COVID cases was reported in the last 24 hours and the death toll rose above 41,000 with 850 new fatalities, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. 

As many as 13,78,105 patients have recovered in India since the outbreak of the virus, the government data shows. While India's recovery rate stood at 67.98 per cent the positivity rate stood at 10.88 per cent. Over 2.27 crore samples have been tested across the country, which has a population of about 130 crore people.

Meanwhile, The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that the total number of Coronavirus cases across the globe stands at 18,614,177 with 702,642 fatalities.

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(With Inputs from ANI)