RIUKT struggles for sufficient oxygen

Indoor dining banned in federal capital

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD:

Even though it hosted novel coronavirus patients for the entirety of the first wave and is now taking in patients during the second wave, the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUKT) still lacks an oxygen tank, The Express Tribune learnt.

As a result, the facility may run into problems in dealing with critical patients who require a constant supply of supplemental oxygen.

Sources claimed that months after the pandemic started and hundreds of patients were treated at RIUKT, no progress has been made on the installation of a liquefied oxygen gas tank - vacuum insulated evaporator (VIE) oxygen tank - worth Rs30 million.

In this regard, sources expressed the fear that the oxygen supply system at RIUKT may collapse under the weight of patients during the second wave.

In this regard, it has been learnt that early on Tuesday, at least 13 Covid-19 patients were shifted to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) due to a shortage of oxygen at RIUKT, Of these, one passed on the way while two others died after reaching the hospital.

Sources shared that the Punjab government has consistently been sent reminders about the issue, but Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid - who had visited the facility and obtained first-hand knowledge of the issue - have failed to resolve it.

In the absence of the oxygen system in RIUKT, dozens of patients who require an uninterrupted supply of oxygen are at risk. Sources added that the existing oxygen system - which was designed for a urological and renal facility - is straining under the weight of Covid-19 patients and can collapse at any time.

Sources added that the RIUKT’s management had decided to upgrade its oxygen production facility following the rise in Covid-19 patients but the process has seemingly ground to a halt.

Indoor dining banned in capital

The Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) on Tuesday imposed a ban on indoor dining in the capital after the number of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases continued to grow on Tuesday.

ICTA Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, in a notification issued on Tuesday evening - under the Epidemic Diseases Act to stop the spread of the virus, stated that there will be a complete ban on dining in restaurants until further orders. However, he said that takeaways will be allowed from eateries.

Moreover, the notice said that those facilities that are able can serve customers on outdoor seats.

It further stated that no timing restrictions will apply to eateries.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2020.