Indus Hospital CEO Dr Abdul Bari said that Dr Furqanul Haq — who died a day earlier due to the coronavirus — did not avail medical treatment because of the social stigma associated with the respiratory illness.

Speaking on the show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, he said: "His niece works at our hospital and she had insisted he get himself admitted but he had refused, thinking that the news of his diagnosis would spread in the neighbourhood."

He added that the deceased did not visit Indus Hospital.

Earlier, Pakistan Medical Association Secretary General Dr Qaiser Sajjad had said that the doctor had died after being unable to find a ventilator despite visiting several hospitals.