RIYADH: Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi on Tuesday paid tribute to the frontline doctors who sacrificed their lives in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Offering condolences to family members of the doctors who died on duty during the pandemic, Moshi called them “real heroes.” At least five Bangladeshi doctors have died of COVID-19-related causes while serving in hospitals and clinics across Saudi Arabia. Dr. Mohammad Shafiullah, a consultant at King Salman Hospital in Riyadh, died on June 19. The first Bangladeshi doctor in the Kingdom to die from COVID-19 was 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon and general practitioner Dr. Afaq Hossain, who died on March 31 in Madinah after contracting the virus from patients at Safa Al-Madinah Polyclinic. On June 16, Dr. Golam Mostafa, who was also based in Madinah, died. He had worked with the Saudi Ministry of Health for more than 34 years and had retired four months ago. He was waiting to go back to his home country. On June 13, Dr. Md. Anwar Ul-Hasan died from COVID-related causes in Riyadh. He worked as a GP at Badruddin Polyclinic in Batha. His fellow GP, Dr. Abdur Rahim, died on May 19 in Jeddah, where he had worked at Binladen Polyclinic. Several other Bangladeshi doctors are receiving treatment for COVID-19 in the Kingdom, and two Bangladeshi doctors’ wives have also lost their lives to the virus in Riyadh. The embassy is keeping in close contact with the medical community to ensure all possible support is given to them, Moshi said.