KP Doctor Wears Plastic Bag As Mask To Protest Non-Availability Of Protective Gear

As a sign of protest against lack of adequate protective equipment, a doctor in Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) wore a plastic bag as face mask while seeing patients at his clinic. Dr. Amir Ali Khan's pictures with a plastic bag wrapped around his face went viral on social media and people questioned the lack of adequate equipment for doctors during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The doctor has said that he wore the plastic bag to protest the non-availability of face masks and gloves for doctors. Journalist Benazir Shah tweeted her conversation with Dr Khan who said that he could not find any face masks at the local pharmacies and the district health department was unresponsive to to his requests.

https://twitter.com/Benazir_Shah/status/1243117625619746816?s=20

However, the doctor said that he was contacted by the health officials who provided him masks and gloves after his pictures started circulating on social media.

Doctors in Pakistan have been recording their protest against lack of protective gear amid the outbreak of coronavirus in the country. Last week, a doctor in Gilgit Baltistan who had contracted coronavirus while screening and treating the patients lost his life. Doctors in Punjab have also threatened to stop treating the patients if they are not given adequate protective equipment.