MUMBAI: Around a million doctors in India went on a day-long strike on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic to protest against a new federal government rule that allows practitioners of the traditional science of Ayurveda to perform minor surgeries.
Thousands of non-critical medical operations and routine consultations across the country were set to be disrupted as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the umbrella body for all conventional doctors and surgeons, declared a decision to suspend work for 12 hours.
“All non-essential consultations and surgeries from morning until evening on Friday were suspended, ” said Rajan Sharma, the head of IMA, adding that the strike would not affect treatment to COVID-19 patients.