Only six out of 36 states and union territories maintain separate records of health workers who died due to Covid-19 in the last two years, Union Health Ministry informed the Parliament on Tuesday.
These states are Maharashtra and Gujarat, along with Sikkim, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
Maharashtra lost 67 doctors, 19 nurses and 141 other health workers whereas Gujarat reported deaths of 20 doctors, 20 nurses, 6 ambulance drivers and 128 paramedics. In the other four states, the toll is in single digits.
Responding to a question by Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said though states were to keep disaggregated records, only a handful shared such records with the Centre when asked.
However, the Centre has paid a compensation of Rs 808 crore to families of 1,616 healthcare workers from 33 states and UTs following a Covid-specific insurance scheme that the Centre had announced for healthcare workers.
Named Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package, the insurance scheme was launched on March 30, 2020 to provide a personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to 22.12 lakh healthcare workers including those working in private hospitals and community settings giving care to Covid-19 patients.
The scheme received several extensions, the last of which happened on October 20, 2021, when it was extended for 180 days.
The official records are substantially lower than the claims made by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which in July 2021 claimed more than 1,500 doctors died of Covid-19. IMA is India’s biggest association of doctors with more than 3 lakh members.
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(Published 08 February 2022, 18:23 IST)
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