It is a national tragedy and we will award him the title of national hero, says GB CM
Gilgit-Baltistan:
“We will see again what the problem is, and if they (isolated pilgrims) need further treatment, they will be taken to DHQ or the city hospital, but if they can be treated here, we will provide them treatment here.”
These were the last words of young doctor Osama Riaz, heard in a video recorded at the quarantine center in Sakwar, Gilgit – where he eventually ended up contracting the new coronavirus while screening pilgrims returning from Iran and Iraq.
“Osama was on duty constantly and unfortunately he was without the proper protective equipment needed to handle a coronavirus patient,” a doctor said, referring to the video in which Riaz appeared wearing a regular mask. The video spread on social media, arousing sympathy for the young doctor.
Pakistani volunteers with 3D ventilators join the fight against Covid-19
According to his relatives, Riad returned home on Friday night from work and went to bed. But he could not wake up the next morning,” the relative said, adding that he was rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and then to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) where the CT machine was found to be faulty. His relatives demanded that he be flown to Islamabad to receive treatment, but that did not materialize either.
26-year-old Riaz, who was a resident of Chilas town, was then put on a ventilator at DHQ Gilgit, where he stayed for the next three days before he died on Sunday.
“It is a national tragedy and we will award him the title of national hero,” Prime Minister Hafeezur Rahman told The Express Tribune.
“He was our front line of defense and we honor his sacrifice.”
With Riaz’s death, the death toll in Pakistan rises to five. The number of cases of infection with the virus in the country has so far exceeded 800. Sindh has reported the highest number of cases.
Mahtabur Rahman, a local journalist who visited the quarantine center, said: “I visited the center where Osama was sent and found the situation deplorable.”
“In terms of protective equipment, there was nothing like that on the ground,” said the journalist, who was later placed in quarantine on suspicion of having visited the center without following standard operating procedures. Rahman described the quarantine as revenge for exposing the government’s false claims.
A 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 real issues of doctors.
“Dr Riaz contracted Covid-19 due to the negligence of the government and its health department,” PMA Chairman Dr Zulfiqar Ali said while addressing a press conference in Gilgit.