It’s 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 they (the quarantined pilgrims) need further treatment, they will be transferred to DHQ or the city hospital, but if they can be treated here , we will provide them with care here.”
These were the last words of young doctor Usama Riaz, heard in a video recorded at a quarantine center in Sakwar, Gilgit – where he eventually contracted the novel coronavirus while screening pilgrims returning from Iran and Iraq.
“Osama was continuously on duty and unfortunately he did not have the proper protective equipment required to treat a coronavirus patient,” said a doctor referring to his video in which Riaz is seen wearing a regular mask. The video went viral on social networks, arousing the sympathy of the young doctor.
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According to relatives, Riaz returned home on Friday evening after his shift and went to bed. “But he couldn’t wake up the next morning,” said the relative, adding that he was rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and then to the General Headquarters Hospital (DHQ ), where a scanner was found to be broken. The relatives requested that he be flown to Islamabad for treatment, but that too did not materialize.
Riaz, 26, who was a resident of Chilas town, was later placed on a ventilator at DHQ Gilgit, where he remained for the next three days before passing away on Sunday.
“It is a national tragedy and we will accord him the status of a national hero,” Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman told The Express Tribune.
“He was our frontline defense and we honor his sacrifice.”
Riaz’s death brings Pakistan’s death toll to five. The country has more than 800 known cases of the virus to date. Sindh reported the highest number of cases.
Mehtabur Rehman, a local journalist who visited the quarantine center, said: “I visited the center where Osama was sent and found the situation deplorable.”
“As for protective equipment, there was none on the ground,” said the journalist who was later quarantined, “suspected” of visiting the center without following standard operating procedures. Rehman called the quarantine a vendetta to expose the government’s false claims.
Young doctor screening coronavirus patients dies of COVID-19 in Gilgit
The Pakistan Medical Association of Gilgit-Baltistan (PMA GB) reacted to Riaz’s death and accused the government of being negligent towards the genuine problems of doctors.
“Dr Riaz contracted COVID-19 due to the negligence of the government and its health department,” PMA GB President Dr Zulfiqar Ali said at a press conference in Gilgit.