KARACHI: Dozens of doctors have tested positive for coronavirus in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, highlighting the risk healthcare workers at the frontline face in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic

According to Geo News, 20 medical professionals in Karachi and 18 in Multan have tested positive for Covid-19.

Twelve doctors and six nurses have tested positive for coronavirus at Nishtar Medical Hospital, a senior official at Multan’s biggest health facility said on Sunday. Nishtar Medical University Vice-Chancellor Dr Mustafa Kamal Pasha said: “The staff had been treating a patient who had lung disease. After the patient died, his test came back positive for the virus. We conducted tests of everyone in the ward after the patient passed away.”

While the federal government insists it is trying to ensure the availability of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for doctors, healthcare workers across the country have complained of the shortage of protective gear as the number of cases rose above 5,100, with 88 deaths. Dr Qaiser Sajjad, secretary-general of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) told Geo News that the government needed to ensure proper protective gear was given to those dealing with coronavirus patients. “This is a serious issue if the doctors aren’t protected,” Dr Sajjad said. “The government keeps saying it will only provide protective gear to those working in the intensive care unit.”

“If we do not take precautions, our health system would collapse,” he warned. “If steps to protect the doctors aren’t taken, they will sit at home,” the PMA official added. “Those doctors sitting at home are not being used by the government. We could face a shortage of health professionals in the coming days,” Dr Sajjad noted. “More than 50 doctors have contracted the virus and this is only about the ones we know,” he added.

In Karachi, at least 20 doctors from various tertiary care hospitals were put into isolation after testing positive for the virus, Geo News reported.

This prompted Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif to tweet: “An increasing number of doctors and paramedics getting infected with Covid-19 is worrisome. It exposes govt’s claims of having provided PPEs to the medical staff. Those at the frontlines of this fight deserve better & must be provided with the protective kits immediately!!”