Live: 50 doctors die from Covid across India in one day as infections cross 25 million

Health workers attend to patients inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a Covid-19 ward in Delhi on 1 May, 2021

(AFP via Getty Images)

As many as 244 doctors have died due to Covid in India during the brutal second wave of the pandemic and 50 of these deaths were recorded in a single day (Sunday), according to the Indian Medical Association.

This comes as India’s total coronavirus cases surged past 25 million with 263,533 new Covid-19 cases being reported in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning. 4,329 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded, taking the death toll to 278,719.

Dr Jayesh Lele, the general secretary of IMA, told NDTV the association has found that many doctors have not taken the Covid-19 vaccine. “Secondly, we want to highlight that doctors are understaffed and overworked. They sometimes work for 48 hours at a stretch without any rest. This adds to the viral load and they ultimately succumb to the infection,” Dr Lele said.

Meanwhile, president Joe Biden has said that the US will send at least 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad by the end of June. This is in addition to the 60 million AstraZeneca doses he had already said would be given to other countries, meaning the administration will send 80 million doses abroad in total.

New York state will drop face mask requirements this week in most public spaces for those fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in line with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said governor Andrew Cuomo. However, California will keep its mask mandate in place for another month.