The Indian Medical Association on Thursday accused the government of “indifference” and “abdication” after it said there was no complete d...
The Indian Medical Association on Thursday accused the government of “indifference” and “abdication” after it said there was no complete data on the number of frontline healthcare workers who have contracted the coronavirus and died, NDTV reported. The health body released a list and said that so far, 382 doctors have died of the infection.
On Tuesday, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha that health is a state subject and such data is not maintained at central level. However, he said that the relatives of 155 healthcare staff, including 64 doctors, had sought relief under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, an insurance scheme for health workers tackling the coronavirus.
The Indian Medical Association – which represents 3.5 lakh doctors across the country – said the government loses its moral authority to administer the Epidemic Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act if it fails to maintain proper data about health care workers. “This also exposes the hypocrisy of calling them corona warriors on one hand and denying them and their families the status and benefits of martyrdom,” it said in a letter.
The medical body said the youngest doctor to lose his life due to the coronavirus was 27 years old and...
