COVID-19: India Loses 270 Doctors in 2nd Wave; 50 Deaths in 24 Hours

India lost as many as 270 doctors who have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 battle during the deadly second wave of the pandemic, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) revealed. Of them, 50 deaths were reported in a single day on Sunday. The list of the deceased doctors also includes eminent cardiologist and former IMA president Padma Shri Dr KK Aggarwal who died on Monday.

Bihar saw the maximum number of 78 deaths of medical practitioners, followed by Uttar Pradesh (37), Delhi (29) and Andhra Pradesh (22).

According to the IMA Covid-19 registry, 748 doctors succumbed to the disease in the first wave of the pandemic.

"Last year, 748 doctors across India succumbed to Covid-19, while in the current wave, in a short period, we have lost 270 doctors.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," IMA president, Dr JA Jayalal said.

The report comes on a day when India registered strange figures of coronavirus cases, logging the highest single-day death toll at 4,329, and the lowest number of infections in four weeks at 2,63,533. Right now, five states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu – have been reporting at least 300 deaths every day on an average.

Since the start of this month, 66,866 people are reported to have died because of Covid-19, making it the deadliest month during the pandemic. April was the worst month for India in terms of number of infections. Close to 70 lakh infections had been detected during that month