A female doctor in her 20s died at a private hospital in Lahore after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the Punjab health department confirmed on Friday.
According to the health department, Dr Sana Fatima was treating Covid-19 patients at Fatima Memorial Hospital.Now she was among 1359 people who died in Pakistan while infectees soared to 64,745 However 22,305 recovered
She was admitted to Doctors Hospital and Medical Centre on May 20 after testing positive for the virus and developing symptoms of its related disease — Covid-19. She died early morning today after her condition deteriorated, the department said.
Fatima was also a resident at Chughtai Lab, Lahore, and leaves behind a husband and a daughter
Speaking to media, Punjab health secretary Nabeel Awan expressed his condolences over the passing.
"The government is providing doctors with all the facilities. Doctors all over the world who are fighting the virus on the frontlines are dying. The situation in Pakistan is no different," he said.
Earlier this month, another doctor – a recent graduate from the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College in Bahawalpur – had died from the virus in Rawalpindi just days before she could begin her professional career with a house job.
Punjab has reported 29 deaths today, its highest single-day death toll so far, the health department said, adding that a majority of the cases were being reported in the provincial capital, Lahore. The province has reported a total of 22,964 cases since the virus first emerged in Pakistan on February 26.
Two Radio Pakistan staffers & a senior Journalist died from Covid-19 on Thursday.
The deceased include a senior broadcast engineer and an Urdu newscaster. They were both associated with Radio Pakistan for 20 years.Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed passed away due to the coronavirus, early on Thursday morning at Peshawar's Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).
According to an official statement issued by the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), Senior Broadcast Engineer Mohammad Ashfaq, 48, was a regular Radio Pakistan employee who was known for his competence and dedication.
Huma Zafar, 52, was an Urdu newscaster who had been reading national bulletins for the last 20 years. She had recently completed a PhD in Psychology from abroad. For her performance and qualification, she was awarded the ‘outstanding’ category in 2017.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, Information Secretary Akber Hussain Durrani, Radio Pakistan Director General Ambreen Jan and all the directors and staff members of the national broadcaster have expressed their condolences regarding the deaths of both staffers and sympathised with their families.
The PBC director general also held a meeting at PBC Headquarters, where the concerned officers were directed to ensure strict compliance with standard operating procedures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
She said all the preventive and precautionary measures are being taken to protect PBC staff.
Radio Pakistan Deputy Controller News Sajjad Parvez told Dawn that Ashfaq was from Bahawalpur but had been working in Islamabad for several years.
He said Ashfaq tested positive for Covid-19 10 days ago and had isolated himself. He already suffered from a chronic lung condition, because of which his immune system was weak and the infection developed, he said.
“His kidneys were also weak, because of which he underwent dialysis, but he could not survive,” he said, adding: “He had also served in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.”
Mr Parvez said Zafar was associated with the PBC as a contractual employee and was also a professor at the Viqarunnisa Postgraduate College in Rawalpindi.
“Huma’s sister was infected with Covid-19 in Lahore, due to which she went to Lahore with her mother. Later, she and her mother also contracted the virus, due to which her mother died Wednesday night and she died on Thursday,” he said.
PBC media coordinator Chaudhry Zameer Ashraf also confirmed that both staffers died from Covid-19.
He said the PBC has decided to ensure the safety of employees and all possible measures are being taken to protect them from the coronavirus.
A PBC employee who asked not to be named said that officially, nine engineers were tested for Covid-19 of which four were positive and the reports of another two employees are still pending.
Virus has claimed lives of 17 healthcare workers
Data from the health ministry — dated May 28 — shows that 17 medical professionals have died of Covid-19 in Pakistan out of a total 1,904 who tested positive; this figure included 299 nurses, 570 others healthcare staff and 1,035 doctors.
Of these, 1,037 were self-isolating and 171 were hospitalised; 167 were in stable condition while four were on ventilators. Further, 679 had recovered from the virus or were discharged from the hospital.
Sindh has reported the deaths of eight healthcare workers, the highest among provinces, with a total of 538 cases among medics.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 552 cases among healthcare workers, the highest out of all the provinces, which include 249 doctors, 97 nurses and 205 other health workers.
Of the 1,904 doctors who tested positive for the virus in the country, 368 were performing duties in critical care wards while the remaining 1,536 were performing duties elsewhere.
