BOONI: A 103-year old man has survived coronavirus infection in the remote mountainous region of Upper Chitral in Northern Pakistan. Aziz Abdul Alim was admitted to the newly established Aga Khan Health Services Emergency Response Centre in Booni, Upper Chitral, on 1st July, after testing positive for COVID-19. He was treated immediately and over the course of his almost two-week stay at Centre, he stabilised without requiring supplemental oxygen. He was discharged in stable condition and showing no symptoms on 13th July, 2020.

"We treated Mr Aziz as a high-risk patient given his advanced age and provided the appropriate medical care along with psychosocial and moral support - equally important during these distressing times. In a short span of time we have successfully treated 59 Covid-19 patients at this facility - many of whom were elderly," said Miraj Uddin, Regional Head for Chitral, Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan.

The establishment of the Emergency Response Centre in Booni comes as the Aga Khan Development Network increases efforts to ensure that those in Pakistan's remote and isolated mountainous communities can access quality healthcare in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak.

"We were very worried about my father's poor health. We felt there was no hope of survival. My father was very excited at the time of his discharge. He greeted all the staff and management while leaving the response centre and thanked everyone for taking care of him," said Sohail, son of Aziz Abdul Alim.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020