Sindh loses veteran paediatric surgeon to coronavirus

One of Pakistan’s senior-most paediatric surgeons was among the eight patients of Covid-19 in Sindh who succumbed to the infectious disease in the past 24 hours.

“With deep sorrow and grief we want to announce that Prof Nizam-ul-Hasan, who was the founder of the Child Aid Association and its chief patron, lost the battle against the coronavirus on Wednesday,” said Dr Tariq Shafi, the association’s current president.

Dr Shafi said Prof Hasan was also the founding director of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) and a great philanthropist. He added that the late professor’s wife, who is also a physician, is infected with the coronavirus as well and on life support at a private hospital.

The doctor said Prof Hasan was around 85 years old and survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter. He added that the late professor’s funeral prayer was offered at a mosque in Defence Phase-VIII and he was later buried in a graveyard in the same locality.

Dr Shafi termed Prof Hasan’s death a great loss for the entire nation, especially the children who are afflicted with various lethal diseases, including cancer. Prof Jamal Raza, the current NICH director, also expressed sorrow and grief. He said Prof Hasan was a great physician and surgeon who dedicated his life to saving children afflicted with different diseases, especially cancer. He prayed that Almighty Allah would grant eternal peace to the soul of the departed.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also offered his condolences over Prof Hasan’s passing away. He said he was saddened by the news, adding that the late professor was the first director of the NICH and a legendary global figure in the field of paediatrics.

Virus update

Eight more people have died due to Covid-19 and another 492 cases have been reported during the past 24 hours in Sindh, with the death toll due to the viral disease reaching 2,647 in the province.

CM Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Wednesday that 9,531 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 492 people, or 5.2 per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The provincial government has so far conducted 1,681,958 tests, which have resulted in 147,787 positive cases, which means that nine per cent of those screened have been found to be infected, he added.

Shah said that after the latest deaths, the rate of the diagnosed people who have lost their fight with Covid-19 stands at two per cent.

He said that 5,507 patients are currently under treatment: 5,218 in self-isolation at home, two at isolation centres and 287 at hospitals, while 191 patients are in critical condition, of whom 29 are on life support. He added that 357 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, increasing the number of cured patients to 139,633, which shows a 95 per cent recovery rate.

The CM said that out of the 492 fresh cases of Sindh, 354 (or 72 per cent) have been reported in Karachi: 129 new patients from District East, 106 from District South, 68 from District Central, 21 from District Malir, 19 from District Korangi and 11 from District West.

Hyderabad has reported 32 new cases, Tando Mohammad Khan 13, Jamshoro nine, Thatta seven, Khairpur six, Matiari five, Dadu, Ghotki, Sujawal and Sukkur four each, Badin, Jacobabad and Shaheed Benazirabad three each, Shikarpur and Sanghar two each and Larkana one,

he added.