Over 50 healthcare providers infected with coronavirus in Karachi: officials

Dozens of doctors, paramedics, nurses, technicians and other staff of public and private hospitals in Karachi have tested positive for coronavirus, after most of these healthcare providers came into contact with “affected but asymptomatic patients” without wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE), health department officials said on Saturday.

“Dozens of healthcare providers, including doctors, paramedics, nurses, technicians, ward boys and even drivers at various public and private hospitals have so far tested positive for the coronavirus. The actual figure is not yet known, but over 50 healthcare providers have so far tested positive,” an official of the Sindh health department told The News.

At least one doctor, Dr Abdul Qadir Soomro, an eminent physician and dermatologist, had died due to coronavirus in Karachi, but despite getting infected, none of these doctors had been hospitalised, the official said.

The latest outbreak of coronavirus has been reported from the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre near the Civil Hospital Karachi, where 10 healthcare providers, including two doctors, three anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians and an IT person, have been infected with COVID-19 after performing surgery on an infected patient.

“At least 10 healthcare providers, including two vascular surgeons and three anesthesiologists, have found infected with coronavirus and their tests have been positive. All of them have been placed in quarantine while other staff are also being tested,” the health department official said.

The official maintained that in addition to that, at least three staff members of the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) and an assistant professor of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) of the medicine department have been infected with the viral ailment.

Medical Superintendent CHK Dr Khadim Hussain said the incharge of their casualty department, a ward boy and a driver of the hospital had been infected with the coronavirus and they had been placed in isolation, while an assistant professor of the medicine department who was on leave had also tested positive for the virus.

“The condition of all these COVID-19 patients is good. Either they are asymptomatic or with little symptoms. All of them have been placed in self-isolation at their homes and they are doing well,” Dr Khadim Hussain said, adding that actually patients infected with coronavirus were visiting hospitals in a large number, and when healthcare providers saw them without PPE or showed any slackness, they also got infected.

But some insiders claimed that several doctors and paramedical staff of the surgical wards of the CHK had tested positive when they unknowingly performed surgeries on two patients who were coronavirus positive and all the staff of two surgical wards became infected.

“Elective surgeries had been cancelled in the province following the coronavirus outbreak to prevent surgeons and other technical staff from contracting the viral infection as it is now a known fact that all the secretions of a coronavirus patients contain the virus and can infect doctors and paramedics,” one of the infected surgeons from CHK said but deplored that they had been asked to perform surgeries, which infected him and several of his colleagues.

Four infected at NICH

Officials at National Institute of Child Health (NICH) Karachi said four of their healthcare providers -- two doctors and two paramedics -- had tested positive for the coronavirus and had been shifted to different hospitals and self-isolation to prevent others from contracting the disease.

“Two of our doctors and two paramedics have so far tested positive for the COVID-19. Most probably, they acquired the disease from their patients. They have been put in isolation while the departments where they worked are being disinfected and those who came into their contact are being monitored,” said Prof Jamal Raza, director of the NICH Karachi, while talking to The News.

One infected at Dow Ojha campus

Officials at Dow University’s Ojha campus said that despite treating COVID-19 patients and testing samples from the entire province, only one ward boy at the emergency department had tested positive.

They added that they had adopted the infection prevention and control practices which helped in preventing their staff from contracting the disease. “Only one ward boy at the emergency department contracted the coronavirus and he was immediately isolated. We have put in tight controls while we are providing PPE in abundance to prevent our staff from this virus,” said Prof Saeed Quraishy, vice chancellor of the DUHS, while talking to The News.

Other doctors infected

Health department officials said several doctors and paramedics at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Karachi, Liaquatabad and Korangi had become infected with coronavirus, and most probably they acquired the infection from their patients while examining them at their OPDs and wards without using PPE.

“Several doctors from the ASH, Liaquatabad and Korangi approached various hospitals, including CHK, and other labs, and requested for their test and at least six doctors have tested positive so far. They are in self-isolation while their close contacts and family members are being examined,” the health department said.

Two infected at Indus Hospital

Two healthcare providers of the Indus Hospital Karachi, who took coronavirus samples and treated patients from entire Karachi, had also tested positive, Indus Health Network (IHN) officials said. “One doctor and a staff member of the Indus Hospital Karachi have tested positive for coronavirus so far. We are taking the issue of the safety of our staff very seriously and trying to protect them as much as possible.”

Situation at JPMC

Officials at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) said that despite dealing with largest number of patients since the coronavirus outbreak, not a single staff member of the hospital had so far tested positive for the COVID-19. They added that they were doing their best to prevent their doctors and staff from contracting the disease.

“We put eight of our staff members in quarantine, including doctors and nurses, and, fortunately, all have tested negative. We are using PPE while dealing with patients and take all precautionary measures in this regard,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, the executive director at the JPMC.

Private hospitals

Several doctors, paramedics and staff members of various tertiary-care and secondary-care hospitals had tested positive for coronavirus, and these hospitals include two private health facilities near the National Stadium Karachi, Sindh health department officials said, adding that several other healthcare providers at hospitals in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad and Defence and Clifton areas had also tested positive for the virus.

“We are compiling the data of healthcare providers who came into contact with coronavirus positive people and got infected in the private health sector. But there are over 15 healthcare providers from different private hospitals who have tested positive for the coronavirus in Karachi,” an official of the health department said.

PMA seeks compensation

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) said two of the doctors had so far died due to coronavirus in the country while many had been found infected with the virus while taking care of the patients.

It demanded from the federal and provincial governments to announce compensation for those healthcare providers who had lost their lives and those who had become infected with the virus. “Doctors are frontline soldiers in this war against coronavirus and two have so far been martyred. Several others have so far been infected with the virus and their lives are at risk. We demand compensation for those who have died and special allowance for those who are working on the frontline,” said Dr Qaiser Sajjad, secretary general of the PMA, in a statement on Saturday.