PMA says over 200 doctors have succumbed to coronavirus in Pakistan

• 202 doctors, 30 paramedics have succumbed to COVID-19, says PMA.
• PMA wants govt to provide Shuhuda package compensation to families of healthcare workers as earlier announced.
• Healthcare workers are on the frontlines against the pandemic, says the association.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Wednesday urged the government to provide the Shuhuda compensation package announced earlier to the families of healthcare workers, as the death toll of doctors who succumbed to the virus exceeded 200.

In a press release, the PMA said as of now, 202 doctors and 30 paramedics have passed away from the virus. Out of these, 74 doctors hailed from Punjab while 64 belonged to Sindh.

Among the doctors who passed away due to the coronavirus, 53 belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while 6 hailed from Balochistan, 3 from Azad Kashmir and one doctor from Gilgit-Baltistan.

Providing a further breakdown of the deceased healthcare workers' professions, the PMA said among the frontline healthcare givers who had fallen to the infection, 24 were medical officers, 19 were general physicians and 13 were paediatricians.

Among them were nine who were professors of medicine while an equal number of ENT specialists also succumbed to the virus.

As per the PMA statement, the total number of healthcare workers who have passed away in Pakistan from the virus include 7 gynaecologists, 6 pathologists and 3 postgraduate trainees as well.

The PMA said that among the deceased included 3 radiologists, two surgeons and an equal number of cardiologists.

The association called upon the government to provide the compensation which was included in the Shuhuda package for healthcare workers to the families of the deceased, adding that they were frontline warriors in the battle against the pandemic.

Pakistan reports less than 3,000 coronavirus cases in a single day since March 16

As per data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 2,869 coronavirus cases in a single day on Wednesday.

This is the first time in almost two months that Pakistan reported less than 3,000 coronavirus cases as, on March 16, 2,351 new cases of the virus had been reported throughout the country.

As per figures provided by the NCOC, Pakistan carried out 38,616 coronavirus tests on Tuesday out of which 2,869 returned positive.

The positivity ratio in Pakistan stands at 7.42% today.

The current active cases of the country stand at 76,536 and 771,692 recoveries are reported country-wide.