LAHORE: A shortage of protective wear in Punjab is imperiling the ability of medical workers to fight the coronavirus outbreak, and putting their own lives at risk.
“This is criminal negligence,” Dr. Nauman Hussain Chaudhry, who has been treating Covid-19 patients in Dera Ghazi Khan, southern Punjab, told Arab News, over the phone. “Only the doctors who are working in shifts at the quarantined areas have been fully equipped. Others, like the doctors on visiting rounds, nurses and the janitorial staff have been given basic face masks and a pair of gloves.”
He warned that members of the medical and non-medical team serving symptomatic patients are being exposed to the virus and could become its carriers.
The nurses and janitorial staff work on day shifts, which means they return home every evening to their families. “Can you imagine? They could be spreading the disease, and no one is testing them,” said Chaudhry, who is also the president of the Young Doctor Association (YDA) in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Working in 12-hour shifts, the personnel have no specific protocols or procedures to protect them from contracting the illness, he added.
Punjab has to date confirmed 96 cases of coronavirus, of which majority, 55, are from Dera Ghazi Khan alone. The uptick in cases has been driven by 800 pilgrims who arrived in the city last week from Iran. Several of them tested positive for the virus.
Not only are the medical teams in Dera Ghazi Khan unprotected, they are also understaffed. Only 10 nurses have been looking after the quarantined pilgrims.
To raise awareness and to highlight the Punjab government’s neglect, Chaudhry and his colleagues have been regularly posting videos on social media. In a video shared with Arab News, Irfan Haider, who recently returned from Iran and has been quarantined with his two small children, says he is being kept in a large hall with 15-20 other people, not in separate, isolated wards.
Other images show disposable protective gear being washed and dried out in the open.
Expecting the medical staff to pass around protection gear is “insulting,” Chaudhry said. Every day, he said he fears he could get infected, but abandoning patients at this critical hour is not an option. “We do what we have to do, in whatever circumstances.”
So far, there is no official data on the number of health care providers who have been exposed or infected.
In Punjab’s capital city Lahore, where 15 infections have been confirmed, the facilities are comparatively better. Three public hospitals have been designated to treat coronavirus patients, Mayo, Services Hospital and Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute. Each has nearly a thousand protective equipment kits, according to the YDA Punjab.
“Doctors working with patients in isolation wards are fully equipped,” Dr. Salman Haseeb Chaudhry, the president of YDA Punjab told Arab News, “But the problem is that most of these confirmed cases are being identified at emergency wards or the outpatient departments. None of these people have any protection.”
However, the Punjab government rubbishes the doctors’ charges as “propaganda”. Talking to Arab News, Mussarrat Jamshed Cheema, the spokesperson of the provincial government said that the “young doctors were doing politics”. “We cannot afford to put our doctors and nurses in danger.”
Last month, the Punjab government distributed 25,000 protective suits, while another 50,000 are being imported in the coming days, she added. As for testing the medical staff in direct contact with the infected, Cheema said that testing would only be done on as-needed basis. “If we keep testing doctors daily, we will run out of kits for patients.”
Despite lack of protective wear, doctors in Punjab brave coronavirus
https://arab.news/pa268
Despite lack of protective wear, doctors in Punjab brave coronavirus
- Images from quarantine facility show disposable protective gear being washed for reuse
- 12,500 protective suits for health workers to be distributed in coming days, says disaster management agency
Pakistan condemns Netanyahu’s ‘hexagon of alliances’ plan, says alert to growing India-Israel defense ties
- Israel’s Netanyahu last week proposed an alliance of countries in and around Middle East against its adversaries
- Pakistan maintains “robust military preparedness” to deter any potential aggression, says foreign office spokesperson
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statement about forming a “hexagon of alliances” within or around the Middle East, saying Islamabad was alert to growing defense ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu on Sunday outlined plans to form a new regional bloc, describing it as a “hexagon of alliances” that he said could include Israel, India, Greece and Cyprus, along with other unnamed Arab, African and Asian states. He said the grouping would collectively stand against what he described as “radical” adversaries.
His comments came days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day trip to bolster ties. The two are expected to discuss cooperation in science and technology, innovation, agriculture, water management, technology, defense and security during the trip.
The statement drew a sharp response from Pakistan’s Senate, which unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday rejecting Netanyahu’s remarks.
“I would also like to draw your attention to the recent resolution adopted by the Senate of Pakistan that strongly condemned such remarks and attempts to undermine Muslim unity,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters during a weekly press briefing.
“We continue to condemn these provocative steps and statements by the leadership of the occupying power that threaten regional peace and stability,” he added.
Netanyahu had also said Israel’s goal was to create an axis of nations that see eye to eye against what he described as the “radical Shia” and “radical Sunni” axis of nations.
Andrabi said attempts to divide the Muslim world along sectarian lines were a “nefarious design” on Netanyahu’s part.
India is Israel’s largest arms buyer and second-largest trading partner in Asia, after China. In response to a question on India’s growing defense ties with Israel, Andrabi said Pakistan remained cognizant of the risks posed by such cooperation.
“Yes, we remain seized of the defense ties between Israel and India,” the spokesperson said, noting that certain “systems and platforms” may have been used by India against Pakistan in the past.
“We are alive to the threats they pose to our security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to regional peace and stability.”
Andrabi said Pakistan maintained “robust military preparedness” to deter any potential aggression from hostile forces.
‘UTMOST CAUTION EXERCISED’
Andrabi spoke about Pakistan’s recent strikes against alleged militant camps in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad had conducted them in self-defense and with extreme caution to avoid casualties.
Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan against militant camps and hideouts in three provinces on Saturday night, killing over 100 militants. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of violating its territorial sovereignty and killing dozens of civilians. Kabul has vowed to retaliate.
Andrabi said the strikes were carried out to ensure protection for the lives of the people of Pakistan and to prevent “imminent terrorist attacks.”
“These actions were directed solely against identified terrorist camps and hideouts, and utmost caution was exercised to prevent harm to civilians,” he said.
He warned Pakistan would take necessary measures under its right to self-defense against “terrorist threats” emanating from Afghan territory.
On the safety of Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan following the strikes, Andrabi said Islamabad had raised the issue with Afghan authorities, adding that Islamabad expected “foolproof security” for Pakistani diplomats and civilians.
