24 health professionals contract COVID-19 at Peshawar hospital

PESHAWAR: Fighting on the front line, at least 24 health professionals have contracted the novel coronavirus at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, ARY News reported on Saturday.

Talking to ARY News, a spokesperson of Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) said that 14 lady doctors and 10 other members of the staff have been infected with the pathogen.

He demanded of the government to close the gynaecology block of the hospital for 14 days and provide personal protective equipment (PPEs) to all the health professionals.

The spokesperson said that the health professionals who were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus should be quarantined and rest of the staff working alongside them should also be tested for COVID-19.

He asked the hospital administration to provide the data of those patients who had visited the health facility after 20^th of April to the provincial health department.

Earlier on April 29, at least 39 healthcare providers on the frontline of the fight against the novel coronavirus had been infected with the infection in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, according to a report.

Those diagnosed with the deadly virus included 17 doctors, six nurses and 16 health workers.

Of the total, six doctors and 13 paramedics had tested positive for the infection in Balochistan, while eight doctors, a nurse and a health worker had been affected by the disease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.