LAHORE (AFP): Dozens of Pakistani doctors and nurses have launched a hunger strike over the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the frontline medical staff treating coronavirus patients.
According to the Young Doctors´ Association (YDA), the frontline staff has been left vulnerable, with more than 150 medical workers testing positive for the virus nationwide.
The YDA also claimed that about 30 doctors and nurses were on hunger strike, with up to 200 medical staff joining them each day for demonstrations.
The association also said that nearly three dozen doctors, nurses, and paramedics contracted the virus in one hospital of Multan, while seven members of a doctor´s family were infected in Lahore.
Talking to an international news agency, YDA chairman Khizer Hayat said, “We are simply demanding justice for our community,” adding that hospital staff would not escalate their protest by walking off the job.
Doctor Salman Haseeb said, “We do not intend on stopping until the government listens to our demands. They have been consistently refusing to adhere to our demands.”
He further said, “We are on the frontline of this virus and if we are not protected then the whole population is at risk.”
The protesters continue working in their hospitals while taking turns to demonstrate outside the health authority offices in Lahore.
In this regard, Punjab health department officials informed the news agency that hospitals had now been provided with adequate protection gear after an earlier “backlog” was resolved.
Earlier this month the Punjab government announced that frontline workers will be awarded a pay bonus and life insurance.
ADVERTISEMENT
