the hospital had to shut down the operation theatre for four days
At least six doctors are among several staff members at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology who have tested positive for Coronavirus.
Dr Saqib Shafi, Chief Executive Officer at the hospital, confirmed the news on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
He explained that more than 400 of the facility’s staff had been screened for the virus.
Dr Shafi revealed that six doctors, 10 nurses and seven other members of staff tested positive, adding that they showed no symptoms.
Professor Aftab Younas is a surgeon at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and was one of the first medics to contract the virus.
He has since recovered and was discharged from hospital on April 18.
Dr Shafi said that the hospital had to shut down the operation theatre for four days after Professor Younas tested positive.
Operations have since resumed after the theatre was disinfected.
The number of doctors contracting the virus is on the rise. This is due to a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Doctors protested about the lack of PPEs, stating that it was putting medics at risk.
In Quetta, Balochistan, 50 doctors were arrested for carrying out the protests. Police used batons to beat and disperse the protestors.
On April 6, 2020, hundreds of doctors and paramedics were seen in face masks, calling for more PPEs and saying that the government has failed to deliver the promised supplies.
They held up slogans before the police intervened.
A senior police official said that protestors were arrested for defying a ban on public gatherings.
The next day, protests continued against the arrests and lack of equipment. Doctors even threatened to stop working unless the detainees were released.
Several doctors and paramedics were injured in the violent clash.
At least two doctors have died after contracting the virus.
Dr Usama Riaz, from Gilgit-Baltistan, was part of a 10-member team of the doctors tasked with screening patients returning from other towns, particularly those arriving there from Iran via Taftan.
He later started providing services to the suspected patients in isolation centres established for them in Gilgit.
Dr Abdul Qadir Soomro, from Sindh, contracted the virus while treating his patients in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed area of Karachi.
When his condition deteriorated, he approached the Indus Hospital in Karachi where he tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the isolation ward.
The increase in positive cases among medics comes as Pakistan witnessed the highest number of deaths in a single day.
On April 20, 2020, there were 17 deaths and 705 confirmed new cases.
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