Two more doctors, nurse die of Covid-19 in KP

PESHAWAR: Two more doctors and a nurse lost their lives to the coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, taking the death toll of doctors, who have died of the viral infection in the province, to 61.

The two doctors, who have died of the coronavirus, were identified as Dr Abdul Kabir and Dr Khair Mohammad Burki.

According to the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), a major organisation of the doctors serving in the public sector hospitals, Dr Abdul Kabir was the first general surgeon in Swat.

He tested positive for the coronavirus and was admitted to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad after developing complications.

He was under treatment for three weeks before being put on a ventilator. However, he could not recover and breathed his last. He was laid to rest in Swat after his largely attended funeral prayer in his native town.

Dr Abdul Kabir was the brother of former Member National Assembly Dr Aallauddin Khan.

Another doctor, who fell prey to the fatal virus, was Dr Khair Mohammad Burki. He belonged to Tank district and had served as district health officer (DHO) Tank. He had also served as deputy medical superintendent of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar.

He was admitted to a private hospital in Peshawar and was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital where he died.

Nazia, a female senior nursing officer of the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), also died after being put on a ventilator in the ICU.

The coronavirus has so far killed 61 doctors and six members of the nursing staff in KP.

Meanwhile, the viral infection has taken 33 more lives in KP on Tuesday, taking the toll from the infectious disease to 2953.

Also, 1153 more people were diagnosed with the infectious disease in the province, bringing the total number of positive cases to 108462.

Of 33 losses, Peshawar alone reported 16, followed by Mardan with seven fatalities.

Four other people died in Swat, two in Swabi, three in Abbottabad and one in Mansehra.

However, according to officials of the provincial Health department, the fatalities officially reported were far less than the unofficial deaths. “The losses caused by the coronavirus are much higher than those officially reported. According to unconfirmed reports, dozens of people are dying every day from the viral infection but they go unreported as patients died out of hospitals,” an official of the Public Health Department told The News.

The government has declared LRH as a dedicated corona health facility.

According to Mohammad Aasim, the LRH media manager, they had established 485 beds for the Covid-19 patients in the hospital. He said 396 Covid-19 patients were under treatment in the hospital. The LRH has the highest number of ICU beds in the province, and 36 critical patients were admitted to its ICU.

In the Hayatabad Medical Complex, the hospital administration had arranged 178 beds for the Covid-19 patients, in which 149 beds were occupied by the patients on Tuesday.

Also, they are stated to have the best ICU services as 38 beds in the ICU, out of 60 beds, were dedicated to the Covid-19 patients.

Out of 38 ventilators, 28 were occupied by the patients.

In the Khyber Teaching Hospital, 103 Covid-19 patients were admitted where one patient was put on a ventilator.