Senior Pakistani doctor dies after contracting coronavirus
dubai — Senior Pakistani doctor Mohammed Usman passed away in Abu Dhabi after contracting coronavirus infection while treating a patient.
A UAE resident for around 12 years, Dr Usman died on Friday morning and the burial took place on Monday night in the UAE.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE Ghulam Dastgir confirmed the news and offered condolences to the family.
He said the family was keen to take the body of the deceased back to the home country but due to the restrictions on Covid-19 deaths, the deceased was buried in the UAE.
“It was a big loss for the family and we offer condolences to them. The doctor’s family was keen on the burial in their home town and the Government of Pakistan had given permission as well. But later it was decided to bury him here,” the ambassador added.
Dr Jamshed Khan, a family friend, told Khaleej Times that he was a pious and down-toearth person.
“He was in the hospital for 10 days but was put on ventilator on the last day. He left behind his wife and two kids, who will have to return to Pakistan now,” Dr Khan said, adding that the decreased was facing some financial issues after his hospital went into losses during the last recession.
“He was the kind of person who shared happiness with others but he handled his problems on his own. We were neighbours and family friends but he didn’t even tell me about the financial challenges that he was going through. After losses in the hospital, he joined a clinic where he got infected from a patient. He used to mainly deal with labourers at the clinic,” said Dr Khan.
Dr Usman was also very forthcoming when it came to serving humanity and community in the UAE as well as in Pakistan.
He said Dr Usman hailed from a remote area in Pakistan but he used to go there once or twice every year to serve the people. “He used to check patients in his hometown free ever year.”