KARACHI: The former head of the surgeries department at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) has succumbed to coronavirus on Friday.
Professor Asadullah, breathed his last while battling with the deadly virus, confirmed Director JPMC, Dr Semi Jamali. Paying rich tribute to the doctor, Dr Semi Jamali said the virus has claimed several lives of health officials during performing their duties. She lauded the services of doctors and paramedics who are at the forefront of the country’s fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
In January 2021, Dr Saleh Soomro had lost his life to COVID-19 in Karachi. The deceased, Dr. Saleh Soomro was head of the physiology department at a private medical university in Karachi. He had been undergoing treatment for the virus at the Karachi Expo Centre isolation ward.
According to a report prepared by federal government officials, 58 healthcare providers, including 42 doctors, have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in Pakistan.
The National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) in its report said, “We have so far lost the lives of 58 healthcare providers to COVID-19 in the country and still counting. They are 42 doctors, 13 paramedics and other support staff, two nurses and one medical student.
“At the moment, 240 healthcare providers are hospitalized, of whom 231 are in a stable condition, while nine are on life support,” the report read.
The official said Sindh was the worst-hit province with respect to the deaths of healthcare providers, where 23 healthcare providers had lost their lives, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 11 healthcare providers had died, 10 in Punjab, seven in Balochistan, five in Islamabad and three in Gilgit-Baltistan. Luckily, no healthcare provider has died in Azad Kashmir.
According to the National Command and Control Center, the total number of deaths from coronavirus in Pakistan has reached 12,218 while the total number of affected people has reached 560,363. In the country, 518,164 people have recovered from coronavirus and the number of patients under treatment is 29,981.
The highest number of deaths due to coronavirus was in Punjab where 4,994 people lost their lives while 4,183 in Sindh, 1,980 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 483 in Islamabad, 102 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 197 in Balochistan and 279 people have lost their lives in Azad Kashmir.
