KARACHI: As the rate of COVID-19 infection among the healthcare workers is on the rise, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has again expressed its concern over the life and health of doctors, nurses and paramedics working as frontline care providers in the case of coronavirus positive patients across the country.

According to a report compiled at the national level, there are 1,359 doctors, nurses and health staff having contracted the COVID-19 disease across the country, which constituted three per cent of the national COVID-19 case count.

As many as 67 new infections were confirmed among the healthcare providers during the last 24 hours, the report added on May 20.

The PMA, in a statement issued by its Secretary General, Dr S M Qaiser Sajjad, highlighted that the healthcare providers concerned were working very hard at quarantine centres, isolations centres and high dependency units and at intensive care units to treat the coronavirus patients.

“They are serving with dedication in hospital wards, emergencies and OPDs at both public and private sector hospitals.”

While already faced with the threat of the lethal infections, people are attacking and destroying health facilities and threatening the healthcare workers, an unfortunate situation which may discourage and depress the healthcare workers, the doctors’ body added.

“The situation will be very unfortunate if healthcare workers do not come to the hospitals due to such incidents and due to their stay in isolation due to coronavirus.”

Dr Qaiser Sajjad urged the government to protect the healthcare workers from coronavirus by providing personal protecting equipments (PPEs) on regular basis.

The healthcare workers must also be protected from violent mobs at hospitals and be provided with peaceful environment at their work places, he added while demanding reduction in the duty hours of the doctors to six hours only and provision of two-week leave for quarantining after one week of duty.

In the meantime, the government should facilitate more and more people for coronavirus test and also provide all the required facilities to the patients at quarantine and isolation centres, the PMA statement stressed–PNFS