At least five Bangladeshi doctors have died of Covid-19 so far while discharging their duty at different hospitals and clinics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Besides, several doctors across the country have been infected with the virus and are undergoing treatment, the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh said on Monday.
Describing the fallen as heroes, the mourning Bangladeshi community, including the doctors in service, in the kingdom has paid tribute to the physicians.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi said the doctors, who sacrificed their lives for helping and treating people, are real heroes and conveyed deep condolences to their family members.
The embassy of Bangladesh is keeping close contact with the doctors’ community to ensure all possible support for them.
Among the frontline workers, Dr Mohammad Shafiullah Ranak passed away on June 19. He was serving as a medicine consultant at King Salman Hospital in Riyadh under the Ministry of Health of KSA.
Dr Ranak, who was in charge of two Covid-19 wards in the hospital, got infected with the deadly virus while providing treatment to patients.
The very first Bangladeshi doctor to die from coronavirus infection in the kingdom was Afaq Hossain aged 62.
An orthopedic surgeon and general practitioner, Afaq died on March 31 while treating patients at Safa Al-Madinah Poly Clinic in Madinah.
Dr Golam Mostafa, who served at Agul Health Center in Madina under the Ministry of Health, died on June 16.
Dr Mostofa worked at the Ministry of Health of the kingdom for more than 34 years and retired four months ago. He was waiting to return home.
Dr Md Anwar Ul Hasan, a general practitioner, passed away on June 13. He worked in Badruddin PolyClinic in Batha, Riyadh.
On May 19, Dr Abdur Rahim, who served as a general practitioner at Bin Laden Polyclinic, died in Jeddah.
In addition, the wives of two other doctors -- Shafiqul Islam and Anwar Hossain -- died from Covid-19 in Riyadh.
Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus, has claimed 1,267 lives and infected 157,612 people in Saudi Arabia as of June 21, according to Worldometer.
