IMA tells Centre to ‘wake up from slumber’, calls for complete COVID-19 lockdown

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New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday (May 8, 2021) urged the central government to impose a complete nationwide lockdown in India to break the COVID-19 transmission chain.

The medical body also added that this decision will give some breathing time to the nation’s healthcare infrastructure to recover and replenish for what lies beyond.

Indian Medical Association in a statement said it has been urging the Centre to impose a well-planned pre-announced national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the nation. 

The statement also added that the collective consciousness, proactive cognizance, and requests made by the IMA and other professional learned colleagues are put into the "dustbin" by the decision makers, "without realizing the ground realities".

“Lockdown will break the chain of devastating spread,” said the IMA, a national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine in India.

#PMOIndia #NITIAayog #LargestVaccineDrive #IMAIndiaOrg IMA demands the health ministry wake up from its slumber and responds to mitigate the growing challenges of the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/7OxKgLhi9Q — Indian Medical Association (@IMAIndiaOrg) May 8, 2021

"However, the central government had refused to head to implement lockdown resulting in the mounting of new patients beyond 4 lakhs every day and the number of moderate to severe cases are increasing to nearly 40 percent," the statement said.

The statement put emphasis on the fact that the "sporadic night curfews have not done any good" and the "life is precious than the economy."

IMA in its statement also targeted the Centre over the acute shortage of medical oxygen in the nation. "IMA is astonished to see the extreme lethargy and inappropriate actions from the Ministry of health in combating the agonising crisis born out of the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic," read an official statement by the IMA.

Adding that the crisis of medical oxygen is deepening every day and is creating panic both among patients and fraternity across the nation.

"Wake up from slumber and respond to mitigate the growing challenges in covid pandemic," the IMA said.

The statement also added that though various mutants are identified yet the real hazard is not explained in actual terms. IMA insisted that dedicated experts shall be designated to study this and propose mitigation measures at the earliest.

Indian Medical Association also asked the authorities to revamp the entire health care administration with Indian Medical Service (IMS) cadets, who are well versed with the technical and administrative skill for effective execution of health care, adding that, a new integrated Ministry shall be set up to serve in this pandemic with a dedicated, proactive, vibrant, innovative, and altruistic Minister and alleviate the fear of people by leading from the front.