The Sindh Government has curried favor from medical officers to perform doctoral duties on a temporary basis, it was learnt on Friday. A total of 57 medical officers, men and women will perform doctoral duties on the request of the provincial government to cater to growing demands of patients infected with novel coronavirus. The 57 doctors have enlisted their services for a total of 89 days and will be paid 100,000 rupees per month as salary. A formal notification affirming the development has been issued by the government. On the other hand, health officials in Sindh claimed that several doctors were putting themselves at risk of contracting the coronavirus by conducting OPDs and examining patients without having personal protective equipment (PPE), saying that due to an extreme shortage of PPE, it was only being provided to the staff at the isolation centres and the emergencies of hospitals. The Sindh health department has already placed a ban on conducting OPDs at all the hospitals and clinics in Malir district, after Dr Soomro and three other persons tested positive, fearing the further spread of the coronavirus in the area. It is pertinent to mention that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has announced to table before his cabinet a proposal to provide compensation packages to families of doctors who have passed away from the Covid-19 pandemic. The chief minister announced that the government gives packages to policemen who lay down their lives in the line of duty. “A similar package will be approved for doctors [fighting the pandemic] as well,” he added. Giving a breakdown of coronavirus-related fatalities among police and healthcare professionals, Murad revealed: “Seven doctors in Sindh have succumbed to the novel coronavirus so far.” While paying tribute to the late doctors, he said that until now, 364 healthcare professionals have been infected by the disease.
