COVID-19: 30 doctors, paramedics test positive in Pakistan

Islamabad: One of the three major public sector hospitals of Islamabad looking after coronavirus patients, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), has been rocked by the emergence of coronavirus among its doctors, nurses and paramedics. It is struggling to cope with the alarming situation.

The hospital, which is considered the biggest healthcare facility in Islamabad as well as the entire northern belt, said 30 members of its staff tested positive for COVID-19.

With this new tally, Islamabad’s total number of confirmed cases reached 490 and according to a senior doctor at the hospital, of all those (around 30 patients) admitted at the hospital, four are in critical condition.

“We have ten ventilators in our corona-dedicated isolation wards and four are occupied,” Joint Executive Director of the PIMS Dr Minhajus Siraj told Gulf News here Wednesday.

He however made it clear that not all those PIMS employees tested positive were being kept and taken care of at the hospital.

“We have asked most of them to self-isolate as we have limited number of beds and patients could face problems if all beds are occupied by PIMS own staff,” said he.

Mother and Child Hospital sealed

PIMS had to seal its Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) a day earlier when 15 people from the hospital were diagnosed with COVID-19. The number jumped to 30 on Wednesday.

The measure was taken when a lady doctor’s video went viral on social media complaining that she had tested positive for COVID-19 but was directed by the MCH management to attend to her duties despite suffering from COVID-19.

“I have had symptoms for the last three days but was continuously performing my duties,” complained the doctor. PIMS administration spurred into action after the video clip was reported by social and conventional media of Pakistan and not only quarantined her in the private ward reserved for coronavirus patients but also conducted COVID-19 tests of other staff at MCH.

Doctors, nurses unwilling to get tested

PIMS spokesperson Dr Wasim Khawaja while talking to Gulf News said it was not unusual for the doctors and paramedics being diagnosed with COVID-19. This is a worldwide phenomenon that those in direct contact with the patients are exposed to virus, he said.

Even in advanced societies like the UK and the US doctors and nurses are falling prey to COVID-19, said Dr Wasim.

However, what makes Pakistan’s case different from other countries in that here people, even doctors and nurses, are not willing to undergo coronavirus tests. This number (30) might jump to even a higher figure if all the doctors and paramedics, including employees, undergo the test, he claimed.