Five Bangladeshi doctors have died of coronavirus so far while discharging their duties at different hospitals and clinics across the KSA.
People from all walks of life of the Bangladeshi community living in the Kingdom are now mourning their tragic deaths, says a press release.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the Kingdom Golam Moshi said the doctors who sacrificed their lives for helping and treating people are ‘real hero’ and conveyed deep condolences to their grieving family members.
Dr. Mohammad Shafiullah (Ranak) passed away on June 19 while serving as the Consultant in Medicine at King Salman Hospital located in Riyadh under the Ministry of Health.Dr. Ranak was a student of Sylhet M.A.G Osmani Medical College in Bangladesh.
He contacted the infection while providing treatment to corona-infected patients and was admitted to Prince Salman Hospital.When his condition deteriorated further, he was shifted to Abdur Rahman corona-dedicated hospital in Riyadh.
He was put on ventilator, but in spite of all possible treatment, his condition deteriorated, and he took his last breath on June 19 in that hospital.
DrRanak was in charge of two corona wards at King Salman Hospital since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in Saudi Arabia.He treated all hospitalised COVID-19 patients till his last day of work at King Salman Hospital in Riyadh. Before joining King Salman Hospital he also served as Internal Medicine Specialist at King Khaled General Hospital located in Majmah, Riyadh under the MOH.
He started his career as a General Practitioner under the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia.Later, he had completed MRCP (UK), FRCP and was appointed as a consultant. He was an active member of ‘BD Doctors Pool in KSA’ since its inauguration.
Dr. Ranak helped thousands of Bangladeshi patients by giving advice over the phone during the pandemic in the KSA.He was a kind-hearted, generous and benevolent person, who has made significant contributions to the Bangladesh community in the Kingdom.
Dr. Afaq Hossain,an Orthopedic Surgeon and General Practitioner,was the first doctor who died of COVID-19 in the Kingdom (Madinah) on 31 March at the age of 62. He got infected while treating patients at Safa Al Madinah Poly Clinic located in Madinah.
Earlier this month, on June 16, Dr. GolamMostafa died from coronavirus infection in Madinah. He worked at Agul Health Center in Madinah under the Ministry of Health.
Dr.Mostafa worked for more than 34 years under the MOH, retired four months ago and was waiting to go back to his motherland.
Moreover, on June 13, Dr Md. Anwar UlHasan died in Riyadh.He worked in Badruddin PolyClinic in Batha, Riyadh as a General Practitioner. He has helped lots of community people in Riyadh.
Dr. Abdur Rahim, another frontliner, died in Jeddah on May 19 because of coronavirus infection.He served as a General Practitioner at Bin Laden Poly Clinic in Jeddah.
Furthermore, two doctors’ (namely Dr Shafiqul Islam and Dr. Anwar Hossain) wives have also lost their lives to coronavirus in Riyadh recently.
Several other doctors are also under treatment across the Kingdom, the Bangladesh embassy located in the KSA informed. The Bangladesh mission is keeping a ‘close contact’ with the doctors’ community to ensure all possible support to them and has paid deep condolences to the bereaved family members.
“The losses of these doctors and their families are a gaping hole and their sacrifice during this pandemic crisis is immeasurable,” the embassy said.