Karachi hospitals to get 500 oxygenated beds amid rise in Covid-19 cases

Over 2,400 more infection cases confirmed, 17 more deaths reported in the province

KARACHI: As the coronavirus tally inched closer to 50,000 and the contagion claimed 17 more lives on Friday in the province, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced the disbursement of 500 oxygenated beds to six hospitals in Karachi.

The beds are being provided by the National Disaster Management Authority.

Presiding over a meeting with health department officials and others, the CM said that 72 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 428 high dependency unit (HDU) beds would be provided to six of the government hospitals in the metropolis, so that every public hospital could have ICU and HDU beds.

He approved the provision of 16 ICU beds and 64 HDU beds to Sindh Government Hospital in Korangi, 20 ICU beds and 55 HDU beds to Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town, 18 ICU and 57 HDU beds to Sindh Government Hospital in Liaquatabad, 10 ICU and 65 HDU beds to Sindh Government Hospital in New Karachi, eight ICU and 34 HDU beds to Metroville Hospital and 100 HDU beds to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The remaining 53 HDU beds will be held in reserve.

Besides, the CM directed relevant officials to ensure the provision of necessary equipment to the isolation facility at the Expo Centre in Karachi.

Covid-19 update

Separately, in a statement issued on the day, the CM said that following the emergence of 2,428 more cases in Sindh, the province's coronavirus count had risen to 49,256, while the death toll climbed to 793 with 17 more deaths.

As per the data provided by the CM, 1,641 of the newly reported cases belonged to Karachi. Of those, 571 had emerged in East district, 351 in South district, 265 in Central district, 2017 in West district, 176 in Malir and 125 in Korangi.

Giving this information, he said that the provincial capital was the city worst hit by the virus and it citizens in particular needed to practice precaution. He added that Ghotki, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Khairpur and Larkana were also badly affected.

He made this observation in the light of the surfacing of 66 more cases in Ghotki, 64 in Hyderabad, 47 in Sukkur, 38 in Khairpur, 31 in Larkana, 26 in Jacobabad, 20 in Dadu, 17 each in Nawabshah and Sanghar, 14 in Jamshoro, nine in Qambar-Shahdadkot, seven each in Kashmore-Kandhkot, Mirpurkhas and Thatta, three in Tando Muhammad Khan and two in Umerkot.

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Most of these cases had been contracted through local transmission, which could only be controlled if people practiced caution and cooperated with the administration, he noted.

He further stated that 1,066 more patients had recovered from Covid-19, following which the total number of recovered patients in Sindh had risen to 23,113.

"This leaves 25,350 patients under treatment, of whom 23,615 are isolated at their homes, 79 are in isolation centres and 1,656 in hospitals," the CM elaborated. "Of those in hospitals, 530 are in critical condition, with 83 on ventilators," he added.