NEW DELHI: India’s largest association of doctors has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to treat all doctors who have died of Covid-19 on a par with martyrs of armed forces, and provide government jobs to their dependents in accordance with their qualifications. In a letter to the prime minister, Indian Medical Association (IMA) said there is a pressing need for an “inclusive national solatium” for all doctors who have lost their lives fighting the pandemic. The medical body said doctors infected by coronavirus suffer a higher viral load and a higher CFR (case fatality rate) as a community. So far, 2,006 doctors have been infected by Covid-19 and 307 of them lost their deaths, IMA said. This mortality rate of 15% compares with less than 2% for the country and less than 1% in the case of overall health workers. According to government data, out of 87,000 healthcare workers infected by Covid-19 so far, 573 have died. IMA said 188 doctors who died due to Covid-19 were general practitioners, the first point of contact for people, who opted not to stay back at home safely during the epidemic. “They chose to serve the nation in the best traditions of the medical profession,” it said in its letter to Modi dated August 30.
