’50’ doctors die of COVID in India — within 24 hours

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) says 50 doctors have died of coronavirus within one day.

The association disclosed this its recent update, adding that over 200 doctors in India have died of COVID-19 as the country battles its second wave of infections.

The announcement of 50 fatalities in a single-count recorded on Sunday, followed the death of K.K. Aggarwal, former president of the association, which occurred on Monday.

IMA said 736 doctors died of the virus during the first wave.

The figure may, however, represent only a portion of the total number of doctors who have died of coronavirus in India, as the IMA is said to only records deaths among its members.

According to the association, the youngest doctor on the list is 25-year-old Anas Mujahid who died on May 9 after suffering an intracranial haemorrhage soon after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The oldest casualty the IMA says it recorded is of 90-year-old S. Satyamurthy, a retired professor.

J.A. Jayalal, president of the IMA, expressed concern about the second wave of COVID-19 infections in the country, especially for health workers.

“The second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be extremely fatal for all and especially for the healthcare workers who are at the forefront,” he said.

Most of the doctors who have lost their lives in the second wave are said to be more than 50 years of age, but a considerable number were under 45 years.

The South Asian country is currently battling a major spike in infection rate, with over 400,000 new cases and more than 3,500 deaths recorded within a single-day count in recent times.

While several nations have responded by sending aid in the form of medicines, oxygen concentrators and ventilators, experts believe that a new variant of coronavirus originating from the country is to blame for the recent surge in infection rate.

So far, India has recorded over 25 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 290,000 deaths.