10 Medics Lost To COVID-19
The novel coronavirus claims the lives of 10 healthcare workers in Pakistan to date, including 5 doctors, 1 nurse, and 4 other medical workers and paramedics. Over 500 healthcare workers have contracted the virus so far, of which 365 worked in outpatient departments and other wards, and were infected by asymptomatic patients. On the other hand, 144 medical professionals had caught the virus while directly tending to COVID-19 patients.
4 Medics Test Positive In Sindh
An assistant professor of a surgical unit and a female doctor of the ENT department at Chandka Medical College Hospital, and two medical officers of Ratodero Taluka Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Sindh were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, the test results of five female medical officers at the Sheikh Zayed Hospital who are also believed to have been infected are awaited.
LRH Gynae Ward Sealed
The Lady Reading Hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sealed its gynae ward after 29 staff members assigned to that ward tested positive for COVID-19. Out-patient departments and operation theaters at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Timergara in Lower Dir have also been ordered closed as eight staff members test positive.
Medics Demand Special Hospitals
Top medical bodies have called for the construction of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals to prevent the spread of the virus among other patients and doctors. General Secretary of Pakistan Medical Association Dr. Qaiser Sajjad claimed that treating COVID-19 patients and non-infected patients in the same wards, as is being done in all hospitals across, is counterintuitive to mitigating the spread of the virus. Moreover, non-coronavirus patients are highly susceptible to the virus while seeking treatment for other diseases.
Lockdown To Be Eased
The ongoing country-wide lockdown will be slowly eased to allow businesses to resume operations under a set of SOPs for different sectors to mitigate any further economic loss, announced the Prime Minister on May 4. Moreover, around a million Corona Relief Tiger Force volunteers will be deployed to help implement SOPs at mosques and markets, and to prevent profiteering and hoarding.