Pakistani doctor Naeem Chaudhry, who worked at a hospital in the holy city of Mecca, is the first medic to die of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Chaudhry died two days ago after contracting COVID-19 through his work at the Hira General Hospital in Mecca, Arab News reports.
The doctor worked in the hospital’s General Surgery Department, where he was considered one of the facilities most skilled surgeons. Director General of Mecca Health Affairs Dr Wael Hamzah Mutair said the Hira General Hospital team is greatly saddened by Chaudhry’s passing.
Mutair emphasized that the doctor contracted the virus during the course of his work, not outside the hospital and, apart from having high blood pressure, suffered no other underlying health conditions.
The Pakistani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ejaz, expressed his sympathy to Dr Chaudhry’s wife and three daughters who live in Mecca, saying he too was “deeply saddened,” by the doctor’s death.
“He laid down his life for the humanitarian cause in these difficult circumstances. His services will always be remembered,” Ejaz said in a condolence message.
“May Allah Almighty rest the soul in eternal peace, and give you and the bereaved family the courage to bear this irreparable loss (Ameen).”
Chaudhry is one of the many Pakistani doctors and health professional’s working to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic in Saudi Arabia. On June 4, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health said the country has 23,581 active cases of COVID-19 and recorded 611 deaths from the disease.
