While the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic saw scores of citizens succumb to the pandemic, the monstrosity of the deadly virus also took away several lives that were protecting us.According to the Indian Medical Association, as many as 798 doctors fell prey to the Covid-19 virus during the second wave of the outbreak across the country earlier this year, of which Delhi recorded the maximum deaths, followed by Bihar. The IMA said on Tuesday that as many as 128 doctors in Delhi lost their lives during the devastating second wave of the pandemic, followed by Bihar at 115 and Uttar Pradesh at 79.Kerala and Maharashtra, states where the new and highly contagious Delta Plus variant of the Covid-19 virus is on the rise, reported the deaths of 24 and 23 deaths, respectively.Puducherry reported the lowest figure after only one doctor died during this period.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday during his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme praised doctors for going out of their way to assist people during the deadly pandemic that has lasted nearly 2 years now.Barely hours after that, IMA president Dr JA Jayalal said that the PM has given assurance that doctors will be respected, protected and safeguarded.India will continue its tradition of celebrating the National Doctors’ Day on July 1 to honour the contributions of the medical fraternity. The first National Doctors’ Day was celebrated in India in July 1991.“PM Modi ensured that doctors should be respected, protected and safeguarded. He also emphasised the need for vaccination. We are celebrating this year’s National Doctors’ Day (July 1) in remembrance of the veteran Dr BC Roy. We are so much pleased that PM Modi greeted the medical fraternity for the Doctors’ Day,” the IMA president said.The IMA had on June 25 informed that 776 doctors had lost their lives during the second wave of Covid-19. As per the IMA Covid registry on June 25, Bihar saw the maximum number of deaths at 115, followed by Delhi at 109, Uttar Pradesh 79, West Bengal 62, Rajasthan 44, Jharkhand 39, and Andhra Pradesh 40.
