DR. NEZAR BAHAB

Infectious disease consultant, Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Jeddah

Popular Saudi consultant Dr. Nezar Bahabri has become the Kingdom’s selfappointed online voice of reason throughout the pandemic.

From the start, the infectious diseases specialist has been offering valuable help and advice on issues related to the crisis via social media, including calming fears over conspiracy theories.

But when the father-of-three contracted COVID-19 in early August, many of his followers feared the worst.

“The community depends on news and social media. Infections cannot be controlled without every single person in a community participating in helping to control it,” he told Arab News. “For a physician, we depend on studies and medical literature to tell the truth. If you leave the community to delve into these

theories and not tell them the truth in simple language, the infection will not be controlled.”

After months of offering virus safety tips while treating hundreds of COVID-19 patients at Jeddah’s Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Bahabri suddenly found himself struck down by the disease. While performing his rounds on a Wednesday, Dr. Bahabri’s patients noticed that he looked somewhat unwell. “They saw it, but I continued working until Saturday when I became worse,” he said.

As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to an intensive care unit (ICU) and after a few weeks recovered enough to be able to leave hospital and recuperate at home. “I experienced feelings that I had never felt before, but I’m a new doctor now,” he added.

Bahabri was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, and it was his father’s wish for him to be a doctor. He gained his certification in 2007 through the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), then the following year completed a fellowship program at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, before going on to obtain his infectious diseases certification with the ABIM in 2010. “Of all the different subspecialties in internal medicine, infectious diseases intrigued me the most,” he said.

When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on

March 11, Bahabri took it upon himself to start educating those around him. As the Kingdom went into lockdown, he continued to warn his online audience about the dangers of the virus and advise

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