Daily Times

A 103-year-old man from the mountainous regions of Upper Chitral has defeated the deadly coronavirus, becoming the oldest known Pakistani to return to health safely after being infected.

The elderly man named Aziz Abdul Alim Khan a resident of Booni village, tested positive for the virus on July 1 and was admitted to the Aga Khan Health Services Emergency Response Centre where he received the treatment for the disease.

The regional head of Aga Khan Health Service (AKHS) said that during a two-week stay at the centre, the elderly man recovered without requiring supplemental oxygen. As a result, he was discharged after producing two negative tests on July 13, 2020.

We treated Aziz as a high-risk patient given his advanced age and provided him with 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 in the newly-set up facility — many of whom were elderly,” said regional head of Aga Khan Health Service (AKHS).

His son, Sohail Aziz, said that the family had faint hope for his survival at the time of his admission to the hospital. We were very worried about my father’s poor health. We felt there was no hope of endurance. 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.