ISLAMABAD - Around 245 healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been infected in the country in the battle against novel coronavirus (COVID-19), The Nation learnt on Tuesday.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) prepared data - till 22nd of this month - 119 doctors, 37 nurses and 89 paramedics have been infected with COVID-19 across the country.
According to the document three health professionals have died of the virus.
NEOC is working under the ministry of National Health Services (NHS).
The documents available with The Nation said that 209 healthcare professionals are still in quarantine in their homes and hospitals and 33 have been discharged from the hospital after a full recovery.
The region wise break-up of doctors infected in six regions of the country said that 53 doctors were infected in Punjab, 20 in Baluchistan, 19 in Sindh, 14 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 11 in Islamabad, 01 in Gilgit Baltistan and 01 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
For nurses, the data said that 01 member of the nursing staff was infected in Baluchistan, 05 in Islamabad, 04 in KP, 12 in Punjab and 15 in Sindh.
The NEOC region wise details also said that along with nurses, 03 paramedics were infected in AJK, 07 in Baluchistan, 15 in GB, 12 in Islamabad, 12 in KP 18 in Punjab and 22 in Sindh.
The data further showed that 78 health professionals are in home isolation and 131 are admitted in hospitals. It added that 04 healthcare professionals are admitted in Baluchistan, 13 in GB, 08 in Islamabad 04 in KP, 61 in Punjab and 41 in Sindh.
It also elaborated that out of these 131 healthcare professionals admitted in the hospital only one is in critical condition.
About the recovery of the healthcare professionals, the documents said that 33 health professionals have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital; 04 from AJK, 01 from Baluchistan, 01 from GB, 03 in Islamabad, 01 KP, 08 Punjab and 15 in Sindh.
The report also said that out of 245 total number of infected healthcare professionals 123 were performing duty in critical care units and 122 in other healthcare facilities.
It said that 993 people who were in contact with the infected health professionals have been identified out of which 966 were quarantined and 998 have been tested for COVID-19.
It also said that results of 945 cases have been declared while 41 are still awaited.
Secretary General (SG) Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Dr. Qaiser Sajjad talking The Nation expressed concerns on the number of healthcare professionals who got infected and said that PMA has written to the government for provision of Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to all staff.
He said that initially hospitals were facing shortage of PPEs when the pandemic broke-out in the country but now PPEs are being provided as local manufacturing also started.
“But quality must be maintained in PPEs also,” he said.
He said that number of healthcare professionals also became infected as the patients of COVOD-19 were also asymptomatic and virus was contracted by nurses and doctors as well. PMA representative also said that the flow of PPEs to the healthcare professionals needed to be maintained as numbers of patients are increasing and PPE cannot be re-used. “Some quarters believe that a PPE provided for once is used forever and it’s a wrong concept,” he said.