Dr Yasmin Rashid reviews COVID-19 situation

LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid and Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik on Friday jointly chaired an emergency meeting to review the situation of coronavirus in Lahore after a rapid increase in the cases.

The meeting reviewed the situation regarding the fast increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Lahore and issued orders to the health authorities to immediately make operational 300 high-dependency beds for serious patients in the Expo Centre.

According to a handout, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Momin Agha, Specialised Healthcare Secretary Nabil Awan, Primary Health Secretary Muhammad Usman and other officers concerned attended the meeting. Corona Experts Advisory Group (CEAG) Co-Chairman Dr Asad Aslam Khan briefed the meeting that the number of Covaid-19 patients in Lahore had increased rapidly and the rate of positive cases in the city had jumped from three per cent to 10 per cent in the last one week. He said that the total number of serious patients admitted in the city hospitals was 396 while the number of critical patients was 152. He said that the number of the beds available for serious patients in government hospitals in Lahore was 538 out of which 47 per cent were occupied. The Specialised Health secretary informed the meeting that after the rapid increase in the number of coronavirus patients, the Health Department issued written directions to the medical superintendents of Services, Jinnah and General hospitals to operationalise the high-dependency units (HDUs) and intensive care units (ICUs) at the same emergency level as they were functioning in June 2020.

PHC seals 13 labs: The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has sealed 13 laboratories, collection centres and suspended services of another for conducting diagnostic tests of COVID-19 against rules and regulations. A spokesperson for the PHC said due to the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus, the PHC had carried out special inspections of 115 laboratories and collection centres in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sargodha, Sialkot and Sahiwal. Out of these, seven centres of Rawalpindi and six in Multan were closed down. The Nayyab Lab, Adil Diagnostics, Advance Diagnostic Lab, and two collection centres of each Genomic Lab and Rahila Research and Reference Lab in Rawalpindi, whereas collection centres of Tet Zone Lab, City Lahore Lab, Jenome Lab and Maroof International Hospital, Lab Point Clinical Laboratory and Nishat Lab were shut down in Multan. Also, services of the Islamabad Diagnostic Centre in Sialkot were suspended.