ICUs without air-conditioning could shield doctors from COVID-19 - study

FILE PHOTO: A doctor, wearing a protective mask and a protective suit, works in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are treated at the Bethune-Beuvry hospital in Beuvry, France, October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Intensive care units (ICUs) at hospitals treating COVID-19 patients should do away with air-conditioning to limit the risk of infecting doctors, a study from a top Indian research institute has said.

Frontline health workers around the world have borne the brunt of the coronavirus crisis. More than 500 doctors have died from COVID-19 in India - the world's second-worst hit nation - as infections near 8 million, straining the country's weak and underfunded public health system.