In yet another incident of a hospital being ransacked by survivors of a deceased coronavirus patient, a mob on Friday night attacked Civil Hospital Karachi while also harassing and attempting to assault the medical staff on duty.
According to the hospital’s management, at least 70 people entered the hospital and took the body of the deceased from the emergency ward.
The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Khadim Qureshi, reportedly confirmed the incident and said the police were asked to lodge an FIR [First Information Report] against those involved in the attack.
No medical staffer were, however, injured in the attack.
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“Doctors are demanding security. It’s hard for them to work under this kind of situation,” Dr Qureshi said.
Another doctor who was on duty at the time, said the incident took place at around 11 pm. He and other doctors on duty were also tortured and abused. “It’s the third time in a week, ” he claimed, alleging that the police deployed outside the hospital gate did not help the medical staff.
While no arrests have been made as of yet and doctors have demanded deployment of Sindh Rangers for security, it is worth mentioning that it is not the first incident of its kind as hospitals across the country are being attacked every day amid the rising number of deaths due to COVID-19.
Among other incidents being reported across the country, over a dozen people last week barged into and vandalised the isolation ward at Karachi’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) after a coronavirus patient being treated there died, officials said.
Videos taken of the ward, where 37 coronavirus patients were being treated, after the attack showed pieces of glass, furniture and fans strewn on the floor. The glass windows of a counter were also shattered.
Pakistan has so far reported 1,395 deaths due to the novel virus.
