Indian Government To Enlist Medical Students In Fight Against Pandemic

The Indian government announced on Monday that it would enlist senior students of the country's medical faculties to act against COVID-19 amid a record spike in new infections and overflowing of hospitals

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd May, 2021) The Indian government announced on Monday that it would enlist senior students of the country's medical faculties to act against COVID-19 amid a record spike in new infections and overflowing of hospitals.

The decision was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of "the growing need of adequate human resources for responding" to the coronavirus, as the country struggles to contain its spread.

"It was also decided to allow deployment of Medical Interns in Covid Management duties under the supervision of their faculty, as part of the Internship rotation. The services of Final Year MBBS [Bachelors of Medicine, Bachelors of Surgery] students can be utilized for providing services like tele-consultation and monitoring of mild Covid cases after due orientation by and under supervision of Faculty.

This will reduce the workload on existing doctors engaged in Covid duty and provide boost to efforts of triaging," the government's statement read.

It specified that the students, as well as qualified nurses, who may be applied to "full-time Covid nursing duties under the supervision of Senior Doctors and Nurses," would be prioritized in "regular Government" employment once their involvement in the fight against the pandemic surpasses a hundred days.

All individuals bound to the measure will be vaccinated against COVID-19 and "covered under the Insurance Scheme of Government for health workers engaged in fighting Covid 19," the statement noted.

India has faced an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, becoming on Sunday the first country in the world to report more than 400,000 new infections in a single day.