Coronavirus infects another doctor at PIMS

The number of doctors infected by the coronavirus in the federal capital jumped to 15 as another healthcare professional working at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was tested positive on Monday.

According to 24NewsHD, the 35-year-old doctor is associated with the Urology Ward.

Reacting to the news, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) Islamabad chapter spokesperson said the fight against the coronavirus was not possible without protecting and providing personal protection equipment (PPE) to the professionals.

The spokesperson said there was a severe shortage of protective gear at different wards and more and more doctors were being infected because of the situation.

On Saturday, the doctors working at PIMS demanded the government to further tighten the lockdown and provide PPE to all the healthcare professionals.

Addressing a press conference, PIMS Employees spokesperson Dr Asfandyar warned that the policy of relaxing the lockdown would have disastrous consequences, as he asked the government to revise the strategy. The people should offer the Taraweeh at their homes, he added.

While highlighting the fact that they are professionals, not politicians, he reminded the media persons that the coronavirus was being transmitted locally.

The healthcare staff is being affected by the virus and the numbers of those treating the patients would be drastically increased if the trend continued, Dr Asfandyar warned as he mentioned the death of a senior doctor in Peshawar earlier in the day.

He further added that doctors and health workers were the frontline soldiers; therefore, regular supplies and distribution of quality protective equipment needed to be ensured.

Talking about the substandard protection gear, he said the government was responsible for providing quality items and called for providing the PPE to every health professional working at the hospitals.

An official report released last week said as many as 253 healthcare staff – including doctors and nurses – had so far been infected by the coronavirus in the country.

It said the virus had also claimed the lives of three doctors. However, another doctor, Dr Prof Muhammad Javed, died in Peshawar after that report was shared.