Doctor dies of COVID-19 in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has started suffering again from coronavirus as a senior dentist and associate dean of Khyber College of Dentistry (KCD) Dr Sultan Zeb Khan died of the disease while 181 more people tested positive over the last two days.

Dr Sultan Zeb Khan was diagnosed with the infectious disease a few days ago and was under treatment at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC). Since there was no dedicated Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the Covid-19 patients, Dr Sultan Zeb was kept in the isolation ward of the hospital. According to officials of the hospitals, Dr Sultan Zeb was shifted to surgical ICU when his condition deteriorated, where he couldn’t survive. He belonged to Totalai village in Buner district. Dr Sultan had joined the KCD in 2017 as associate professor. He had reportedly joined the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad and was planning to leave KCD. One of his fellow colleagues in KCD told The News that he fell ill on the second day of his return from PIMS two weeks ago. “It seemed the disease was very serious as it took his life within 12 days,” said the faculty member of KCD. According to Dr Salim Yousafzai, spokesman for Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), 36 health workers, including doctors and paramedics, had died of the coronavirus in the province since the outbreak of the disease. Dr Sultan Zeb was the close friend of Dr Salim Yousafzai as they both belonged to the same village in Buner. According to Dr Salim Yousafzai, Dr Sultan Zeb was a hardworking and self-made person. After graduation in dentistry, he went abroad and spent some time in the Gulf counties and then went to Japan where he pursued his post-graduation. Upon his arrival in Pakistan, he joined the Gandhara Medical College and later got a job in KCD. He is survived by a widow and three children. The coronavirus has again become a serious challenge to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Five people, including Dr Sultan Zeb, have died from Covid-19 in the latest wave of coronavirus in the province. This is the official death toll, although the majority of deaths from the disease are not reported. The government has started efforts to make people wear facemasks while going to the public. Dr Amir Taj, president Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), said the doctors and other health workers were exposed to the virus, saying people were yet to take it seriously. “Unfortunately, our people don’t take it seriously. This is a serious issue and the government as well as the public would have to play their role by following the SOPs to avoid getting infected with this disease,” Dr Amir Taj opined. He said the patients and their attendants were not following SOPs in the hospitals.