Pakistani doctor wins hearts for treating coronavirus patients in China

BEIJING: A Pakistani doctor from Jhelum who volunteered to treat coronavirus patients in Wuhan, has got appreciation from Pakistani students and community members residing in China.

Dr Usman, a Pakistani teacher at Changsha Medical College, is the first foreign doctor who stepped forward to treat infected people in Wuhan as a volunteer.

Taking to Twitter, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan stated: “We appreciate Dr Muhammad Usman Janjua, a foreign doctor to join the fight against coronavirus in China as a volunteer. He is a teacher from Changsha Medical University, China and hails from Deena, Jhelum, Pakistan.”

We appreciate Dr.Muhammad Usman Janjua,a foreign Doctor to join the fight against coronavirus in China as a volunteer. He is a teacher from Changsha Medical University,China and hails from Deena, Jhelum, Pakistan. #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/xDpbgBj883

— Chinese Emb Pakistan (@CathayPak) February 1, 2020

Several Pakistani students, businessmen across China have also applauded the noble gesture by the doctor, who is helping Chinese paramedics combat the epidemic.

On January 27th, Usman formally applied to the foreign experts service office of Hunan science and technology department, hoping that he could go to the Wuhan epidemic area for medical assistance.

Usman told media that when the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus began in China, he kept an eye on the constantly updated figures and situations every day.

“The staff of the foreign expert service sent me the methods of epidemic prevention and virus isolation every day, asking me to protect myself and solving many difficulties for me.”

Usman, 29, had dreamed of becoming a doctor since he was a child. He graduated from Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a bachelor’s degree in 2012 and returned to Pakistan to practice medicine for four years.

During the four years of stay in his hometown, he had always been unable to forget China and Changsha. He said that China had provided him with good opportunities for education and employment and realized his dream.

In 2016, he returned to China and began studying for a master’s degree in medicine at Central South University in Changsha. After graduation, he became a foreign teacher at Changsha medical college.

More Deaths

The death toll in China climbed to 304 on Sunday after authorities reporting 45 new deaths from the previous day.

There were 2,590 new confirmed cases in China, bringing the total to nearly 14,500.

The number of confirmed infections in China is far higher than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak of 2002-03.

SARS, which is caused by a pathogen similar to the new coronavirus and also originated in China, killed 774 people worldwide — most of them in mainland China and Hong Kong.