KARACHI: A young attendant at the outpatient department (OPD) of a charity-run hospital in Karachi died of the COVID-19.
According to the hospital officials, a 32-year-old Noman Ahmed, worked as an attendant at Al-Khidmat Hospital in Orangi Town, run by Jamaat-i-Islami’s charity wing contracted virus on April 27.
After he was diagnosed with the virus, he was admitted to an isolation ward at Civil Hospital Karachi where he remained under treatment for 10 days, the officials added.
He was put on a ventilator however his health subsequently improved and he returned home after being discharged.
According to a central leader of JI Dr Merajul Huda Siddiqi, Noman’s health condition deteriorated again, resulting in his death. The deceased had gotten married about four months ago. The JI leader said Ahmed probably contracted coronavirus while attending to patients at the hospital.
Doctors across the country have urged the government to impose a strict lockdown, saying that if not controlled, the healthcare system will not even have enough beds to accommodate all patients.
Earlier, Pakistan Medical Association President Dr Ashraf Nizami has said that 509 medical professionals have been infected with the COVID-19 across Pakistan.
While addressing a press conference in Lahore today, Dr Nizami said overall 273 doctors, 75 nurses and 161 health staff members became victim of coronavirus so far.
Highlighting the rising number of deaths he said 10 healths professionals lost their lives across country including 4 in Sindh, 2 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), 2 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one each in Balochistan and Islamabad.
Dr Nizami further said 259 health professionals infected with the virus adopted self-isolation while 130 among them were admitted to hospitals due to unstable health condition, whereas, 120 medics have recovered from the disease.