India: Top court seeks break for COVID frontline doctors

India's top court has appealed to the central government to consider giving frontline doctors a break from work duties, citing mental health concerns.

In the past 24 hours, India reported 16,432 new coronavirus cases. Although there has been a recent drop in the daily number of infections, hospitals across the country continue to struggle under immense pressure as they face a shortage of medical staff, equipment, and ICU beds.

"For the last seven-eight months, doctors have not been given any breaks and are continuously working. It must be very painful and might be affecting their mental health," Supreme Court judges told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

As of October, more than 500 doctors in India had lost their lives to COVID-19. The South Asian country has the world's second-highest total of COVID-19 infections after the US with a total 10,224,303 cases, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.

Long-term impacts

Psychologist Ganga Nair warned the pandemic could have long-term effects on doctors' mental health.

"Chronic stress due to increased and relentless burden of patient care, lack of adequate resources and social isolation has a direct positive correlation with several mental health problems, including insomnia, anxiety, burnout, fatigue and stress-related disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to name a few," she told DW.

Niranjan Patil, a doctor at a private hospital in Mumbai, said the stress also extends into doctors' private lives.

"There has been a lot of stress and anxiety for us. We also need to stay away from our loved ones because there’s fear of infecting them," he told DW.

"We see patients suffering in front of your eyes on a daily basis. Many of our own coworkers have also been affected," he added.

New COVID strain emerges

India is expected to start a vaccination drive for some 300 million people early January, renewing hope for many health professionals as well as the general public.

Rajni, a doctor who works in hospital in Delhi, warned against too much optimism. She said she does not think doctors will have it any easier in the foreseeable future and that India should not let its guard down.

"The vaccination process is going to be a long one, and we doctors advise people against immediately getting back to their earlier ways of life. Masks and sanitization are still necessary," she told DW.

On Tuesday, India's health ministry said it recorded the country's first cases of a new strain of coronavirus recently discovered in the UK. Three cases were detected in Bangalore, two in Hyderabad and one in Pune.

According to the ministry, all six patients had recently returned from the UK, and were being kept in isolation by the regional state governments.

Doctors warn the new variant of COVID-19 may be significantly more infectious than the previously known form.

"While the Supreme Court's intentions are noble, we are not sure whether it is practical to give a break. We are struggling with staff shortage, and much as we may need a break, it may not be realistic to expect it," Rajni said.