It is a national tragedy and we will give him national hero status, says GB CM
GILGIT BALTISTAN:
“We will see again what the problem is and if [quarantined pilgrims] If they need further treatment, they will be transferred to DHQ or city hospital, but if they can be treated here, we will provide treatment here.”
These were the last words of the young doctor Usama Riaz, heard in a video recorded at a quarantine center in Sakwar, Gilgit, where he ended up contracting the new coronavirus while checking on pilgrims returning from Iran and Iraq.
“Usama was continuously on duty and unfortunately did not have the proper protective equipment required to handle the coronavirus patient,” said a doctor referring to his video in which Riaz is seen wearing an ordinary mask. The video went viral on social media, attracting sympathy for the young doctor.
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According to his family members, Riaz returned home on Friday night after his shift and went to bed. “But he couldn’t wake up the next morning,” the family member said, adding that he was rushed to the combined military hospital (CMH) and then to the district headquarters hospital (DHQ), where a CT scan machine was found It was broken. Relatives requested that he be airlifted to Islamabad for treatment, but that also did not materialize.
Riaz, 26, a resident of Chilas city, was put on a ventilator at DHQ Gilgit, where he remained for the next three days before he died on Sunday.
“It is a national tragedy and we will give him the status of national hero,” Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman told The Express PAkGazette.
“He was our first-line defender and we honor his sacrifice.”
Riaz’s death brings the death toll in Pakistan to five. The country so far has more than 800 known cases of the virus. Sindh has reported the highest number of cases.
Mehtabur Rehman, a local journalist who visited the quarantine centre, said: “I visited the center where Usama was kept and found the situation deplorable.”
“In terms of protective equipment, there was no such thing on the ground,” said the journalist who was later quarantined on “suspicion” of having visited the center without following standard operating procedures. Rehman termed the lockdown as revenge for exposing the government’s false claims.
Young doctor examining coronavirus patients dies of COVID-19 in Gilgit
Pakistan Medical Association Gilgit-Baltistan (PMA GB) reacted to Riaz’s death and accused the government of showing negligence towards the genuine problems of doctors.
“Dr Riaz had contracted COVID-19 due to the negligence of the government and its health department,” PMA GB President Dr Zulfiqar Ali said during a press conference in Gilgit.
