Dr Tariq Shafi ‑ a British Pakistani cancer consultant ‑ succumbed to Covid-19 on May 6, 2020.
Dr. Shafi was the lead consultant for haematology at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford. He routinely volunteered his time and spoke frequently at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Pakistan.
Dr. Shafi attended Cadet College Hasan Abdal, and received his Bachelor of Medicine from King Edward Medical University in Lahore, Pakistan in 1984. Dr. Shafi continued to assist his patients over the phone after he himself had been diagnosed and was placed under quarantine.
Dr. Tariq Shafi lost his life to coronavirus disease 2019 on May 6, 2020. . He is believed to be the first doctor and sixth health care worker from Kent to die from the virus.. Dr. Shafi is the seventh Pakistani NHS professional to lose their life to COVID-19.
Dr. Shafi's passing is notable in that he had no known underlying health conditions prior to contracting the virus.
In other tributes to Dr. Shafi, his colleagues and patients clapped outside Darent Valley Hospital while ambulances played their sirens, and Jugnu Bhangra Group of Gravesend performed dhol beats.