Six more doctors – including the medical superintendent of Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital – contracted the coronavirus during the past 24 hours, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

But the medical superintendent, Dr Aziz-ur-Rehman, wasn’t alone at his home to be diagnosed with the infection as other family members too had tested positive for the virus. 

It means a total of 57 healthcare professionals so far been infected by the virus in Bahawalpur, as sources say the reason behind a large number of doctors testing positive for the virus is calling all of them on duty simultaneously. At least five doctors are being infected by the virus daily, they added.

The male young doctors are worst affected as, the sources say, they reside in hostels for which no policy has so far been formulated.

It is feared that more healthcare professionals, especially doctors, would contract the coronavirus due to the lack of a suitable policy and not changing the duty roaster.

The doctors and other healthcare professionals have been critical of the government for not providing them with the personal protection equipment (PPE), unsuitable working conditions and lack of the required medical services/ instruments.

Earlier on late Sunday night, Dr Ghazala Shaheen – senior demonstrator of Pharmacology Department – died of the t Nishtar Hospital in Multan after which her sister, Dr Rubina Mustafa, said she had died because of mismanagement.

She alleged that there was no senior doctor in the coronavirus intensive care unit and no ventilator or even cannula was not available for the patient.

Dr Ghazala had contracted coronavirus from the hospital while working where she served for more than two decades, she added.