Pandemic waning in Pindi, says minister

Beds in quarantine centres lying empty

RAWALPINDI:

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid on Wednesday said that the number of novel coronavirus cases in the city are falling rapidly due to the untiring efforts of medics and paramedics in the city.

She said this while inspecting facilities at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Holy Family Hospital (HFH) and the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUKT) in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

Dr Rashid said the number of people who are defeating the virus and recovering from the viral disease is far higher than the number of new infections.

‘Our doctors, paramedics and health workers have done a marvellous job against Covid-19 and we are indebted to their services,” she said.

She hailed medical workers for their services during the pandemic and once again urged the public to strictly abide by the precautionary guidelines against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), particularly during Eidul Azha.

Dr Rashid also met with Rescue 1122 workers who have been fighting against the pandemic on the frontlines.

Dr Rashid asserted that the coronavirus patients are receiving the best healthcare facilities in the allied hospitals of the city while the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the international community praised the smart lockdown strategy executed by the government.

Beds lying vacant

Scores of beds are lying vacant in the quarantine centres of Rawalpindi as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to decline, officials said.

At the peak of the outbreak, there was a shortage of space to house quarantined patients due to which the government established field hospitals on an emergency basis. But with less than 100 new cases being registered and a greater number of patients recovering, the quarantine centres have started emptying.

At least 86 per cent of beds dedicated for Covid-19 patients at RIUKT, BBH, HFH and District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital are lying empty.

Meanwhile, only one of the 240-bed Covid-19 Field Hospitals currently has patients.

Similarly, the Red Crescent Hospital also reported having just a single Covid-19 patient. Of the 78 ventilators at RIUKT, HFH, BBH and DHQ in their intensive care units (ICUs), 58 are vacant.

Similarly, of the 258 oxygenated beds, only 49 beds are currently occupied.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2020.