International Nurses Day: Bol pays tribute to selfless coronavirus warriors

International Nurses Day is being observed today, however, no celebrations or event were held in Pakistan due to the lockdown of coronavirus.

However, Pakistanis still seem to appreciate the work of nurses as they are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Many nurses in Pakistan who were diagnosed with coronavirus were transferred to quarantine and returned to work as soon as they recovered and took care of patients.

Coronavirus has affected a large number of nurses and other medical volunteers in Pakistan and around the world. By the afternoon of May 12, the number of people infected with COVID-19 in Pakistan had reached 32,674, while the death toll had risen to 724.

According to the official government figures, more than 440 medical personnel in Pakistan had been infected with the virus by the morning of May 12, including 70 nurses, and eight of the victims had lost their lives.

The medical community also protested the government’s decision to ease lockdowns and the unavailability of medical safety equipment in the wake of rising cases of the virus among medical staff.

Sabra Parveen, a 35-year-old nurse from neurology ward at Karachi Civil Hospital, the capital of Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh, contracted coronavirus and she took over the charge of his duty immediately after recovering.

Talking about the lack of protective clothing and easing of lockdowns, Sabira Parveen said, “Initially, she was very scared. She was worried not only about herself but also about her children.

“But now i am not scared at all, because i had the worst time and now i am back on duty,” she said.

34-year-old male nurse Amirullah also contracted the coronavirus while performing his duty at the hospital and returned to duty last week immediately after recovering.

Amirullah, a father of two, was on a duty with coronavirus patients in the special ward when he was diagnosed with coronavirus on March 30 and quarantined himself for a month in his house.

Amirullah said that he had lost his confidence after this experience.

It should be noted that apart from Pakistan, more than 90,000 nurses and medical volunteers around the world have fallen victim to Coronavirus.

According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an international organization of nurses and medical volunteers, as of May 6, 90,000 medical volunteers worldwide had been infected with Coronavirus, while 260 nurses had died.