K-P doctor dies of Covid-19 related complications

Dr Dost Muhammad had contracted the virus two months ago while on duty

PESHAWAR:

A doctor, under treatment for the past two months since being diagnosed with Covid-19, passed away in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Thursday.

Dr Dost Muhammad, who served as the Provincial Coordinator for Multi-Drug Resistance in the TB Control Programme, was undergoing treatment at the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar for almost two months.

He was said to have contracted the virus while on duty. Although the doctor later tested negative for Covid-19, he was brought to the pulmonology ward of the hospital on September 22, informed the hospital's spokesperson.

The doctor's condition worsened on September 29, after which he was shifted to the ICU, the spokesperson maintained. He later died of multiple organ failure. 

The Provincial Doctors Association has also confirmed Covid-related complications as the reason for Dr Dost Muhammad's demise.

Covid-19 has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 20 doctors in the province so far.

On July 5, another doctor died of the coronavirus in Peshawar.

Dr Hidayatullah Wazir was undergoing treatment at the Hayatabad Medical Complex before he succumbed to the disease, said sources. He was laid to rest at a graveyard in his hometown of Azeem Qi, they said.

Doctors' associations and media have reported even higher numbers of Covid-19 cases and fatalities among healthcare workers.

At the onset of the pandemic in Pakistan, numerous protests were held by healthcare workers demanding the provision of personal protective equipments, protection, benefits, as well as improved working conditions as the pandemic added strain to an already burdened healthcare system.