'Betrayed Corona Warriors': Rahul Gandhi targets Modi Govt over deaths of doctors

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi Government over the deaths of medical professionals due to the Coronavirus disease saying the government "betrayed Corona Warriors" and called for providing security, respect, and facilities to them.

"The public expressed confidence in Modi Ji by clapping/banging (utensils) for Corona Warriors. But as usual, the Modi government pulled out of helping them and betrayed them. The government must provide security, respect, and facilities to the Corona Warriors," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Gandhi cited a news report that revealed the Indian Medical Association (IMA), concerned over rising deaths of doctors due to COVID-19, wrote a letter on Saturday, requesting PM 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 Coronavirus outbreak

India's COVID-19 cases have jumped from 10 lakh to 22 lakh in 24 days, with over 60,000 infections reported daily in the last four days, an analysis of the Health Ministry data showed on Monday. However, the recoveries have also surged rapidly to over 15 lakh with a record of 54,859 people recuperating in the past 24 hours, according to the data.

The recovery rate now stands at nearly 70%. India's case fatality rate has dropped to about 2%, the ministry said.

India breached the one million-mark on July 17, reporting 10,03,832 COVID-19 cases and 25,602 deaths. On August 7, the total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 20,27,074 with 41,585 deaths.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Centre after India crossed the 20 lakh COVID-19 cases mark. According to Gandhi, the Narendra Modi-led government was missing in action. Writing on Twitter, he also highlighted that his earlier prediction of more than 20 lakh Indians getting infected with COVID-19 by August had proven to be correct. 

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