First death of health worker from coronavirus reported at Pims.

Byline: Mohammad Asghar , Munawer Azeem and Ikram Junaidi

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI -- The first death of a healthcare worker from Covid-19 was reported at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Monday.

The deceased, Zafar Iqbal, had worked at the hospital for three decades. He was the chief technician of the operation theatre at the Pims Children's Hospital.

Pims Joint Executive Director Dr Minhajus Siraj told Dawn that Iqbal used to work in the paediatric surgery department.

'His job was to prepare the trolley and machinery for operation. After serving for almost three decades, he was promoted to [grade] 17, which is a gazetted post. It has been decided to give a shuhada package for the family of deceased,' he said.

On April 28, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza announced that the cabinet had announced shuhada packages for families of healthcare providers who died from Covid-19.

Dr Siraj said that the deceased contracted Covid-19 around two weeks ago and was admitted to the hospital's isolation ward.

He is survived by two sons, one of whom is a nurse at Pims, and he was from the Kisran village in Pindigheb.

Death toll in Islamabad

The death toll from Covid-19 in Islamabad reached 47 after a resident of Banigala died in a private hospital on Monday.

Of the total, eight of the deceased were residents of the capital, local administration officials said. The rest were from other districts and were admitted to various hospitals, including Pims and the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH).

They said 33 patients have died at Pims, three at FGSH, 10 at Shifa International and one at Quaid-i-Azam International Hospital.

Administration officials told Dawn that the patient who died on Monday worked at the Excise and Taxation Office. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 two weeks ago and had been placed on a ventilator at a private hospital, where he died.

Two members of his family also tested positive and have been isolated in their home, they added.

Excise and Taxation Director Bilal Azam told Dawn that the man was diabetic and suffered from a kidney disease. He lived in Banigala and had been on a ventilator for 20 days, he added.

Mr Azam said the patient had been home before he was admitted to the hospital as there was no public dealing at the Excise and Taxation Office.

Meanwhile, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Islamabad rose to 997 from 947, with another 50 reported in the city. Of these, seven...

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