LHC hearing: No swine flu deaths in province, says Health Department

LAHORE:

The Health Department told Lahore High Court on Wednesday that there had been no deaths by swine flu in the province.

A report submitted on behalf of the health services director general also denied prevalence of swine flu virus in the province. However, it confirmed that there were some patients of H1N1 virus. The report said that effective measures had been taken to control the virus at all public sector hospitals. “The chief minister has allocated Rs60 million for this purpose,” the report said. A provincial law officer submitted the report before Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan. The court was hearing a petition filed by Judicial Activism Panel’s chairman Advocate Azhar Siddique. The court adjourned hearing for February 4.

Siddique had earlier said that the government had failed to control several outbreaks of various diseases in the province. “Hundreds of lives have been lost to measles and diphtheria. T he government has not taken any action,” he had said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th,  2016.