100-bed facility to be set up in Malir to isolate Covid-19 patients coming from abroad

The Sindh government has decided to establish a 100-bed isolation facility in District Malir to properly isolate those air passengers coming to the Karachi airport from abroad who are diagnosed with coronavirus infection.

The decision to this effect was reached on Wednesday at a top-level meeting held at the Sindh Secretariat with Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah in chair.

The chief secretary asked the Karachi commissioner and Malir deputy commissioner to establish a 100-bed isolation facility for the coronavirus patients among the air travellers coming to Karachi from abroad. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Sindh would provide all the necessary facilities for the purpose.

A similar 100-bed Covid-19 isolation facility would also be established at the Karachi Expo Centre. The meeting also decided to increase the intensive care unit beds having the facility of ventilators and beds having the facility of oxygen support at all the government-run hospitals of the city in view of the alarming increase in the cases of Covid-19.

The chief secretary was briefed on the occasion that 398 ventilators were available in all the government-run hospitals in the city, which had 906 beds in their high-dependency units (HDUs) and 293 beds having oxygen support.

Sindh Health Secretary Dr Kazim Jatoi informed the meeting that the medical superintendents of all the government-run hospitals of the city had been authorised to do recruitment on an immediate basis to overcome the shortage of staff at these health care facilities.

The chief secretary remarked that the coronavirus pandemic had emerged as a major health emergency and the doctors possessed the experience to serve during such emergencies.

He conceded that the health care facilities in the city had been under immense pressure due to the increasing number of Covid-19 patients. All the coronavirus wards of the government-run hospitals should remain fully available as otherwise due action would be taken against the responsible medical superintendent heading such health care facility, he warned.

The meeting was informed that till August 4, 32 ventilators, 110 HDU beds, 40 beds having the facility of oxygen would be added to the government-run hospitals of the city. Eight more ventilators and many HDU beds would also be provided to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital in Karachi.

The chief secretary informed the meeting that oxygen tanks were also being established in the government-run hospitals for the Covid-19 patients. He asked the provincial finance department to immediately release additional funds required by the health care facilities of Karachi to tackle the fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

He added that if required so, additional doctors and paramedics would be recruited by hospitals for a period of 89 days. Sindh Assembly Parliamentary Secretary for Health Qasim Siraj Soomro said on the occasion that it was utterly important to ensure that the patients infected with coronavirus who were also suffering from heart problems should get treatment at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Karachi.

The meeting was attended by Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali, Karachi Commissioner Naveed Ahmed Shaikh, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Laeeq Ahmed and medical superintendents of all the government-run hospitals in the city.

Info minister’s appeal

Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has appealed to the businessmen, civil society members and other stakeholders in the city to strictly act upon the standard operating procedures prescribed by the government against the spread of coronavirus infections.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the information minister said pressure of the Covid-19 patients on the government-run hospitals of the city had been on the rise every passing day owing to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.

He appealed to the citizens in Karachi to observe safety precautions as much as they could and curtail unnecessary movement outside their homes for the protection of their own health and their loved ones.

He appealed to the members of every household in Karachi to get themselves inoculated against the coronavirus infection as a majority of the Covid-19 patients who were being brought to the hospitals were those who had not been vaccinated.

Nasir also advised the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, and Jamaat-e-Islami to refrain from doing political point-scoring on the issue of coronavirus pandemic.

Vigilance committees

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has set up a Covid-19 vigilance committee comprising five senior doctors at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital on Wednesday.

Its members include Principal Karachi Medical and Dental College Dr Aftab Imtiaz, Convener Executive Committee MDC Dr Farhat Jafferi, Medical Superintendent Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Nadeem Asif, Director Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr M Nadir Khan and Medical Superintendent Sarfraz Rafiqi Shaheed Hospital Dr Nadeem Rajput.

A meeting was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the KMC administrator, Laeeq Ahmed, in which Senior Director Coordination Khalid Khan, Dr Farhat Jafari, Dr Aftab Imtiaz, Dr Nadeem Rajput, Dr Muhammad Ali Abbasi, Saif Abbas and other officers were also present.

Ahmed said all final decisions regarding the emergency ward set up at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital would be the responsibility of the vigilance committee and no one would be able to challenge the decisions of this committee.

The meeting was told that so far 38 patients were being treated in the Covid-19 ward, and in view of the critical situation in Karachi, patients continued to come to the

hospital.

He said that 16 more beds were being added to the fourth floor of the ward. He once again appealed to the citizens to exercise caution and use masks in social interaction in view of the current situation.

"In case of ill health, immediately approach any nearby hospital or health centre to save precious lives," Ahmed said and requested the citizens to cancel private events for some time.

The committee will be responsible for all the arrangements of the emergency ward set up at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and will ensure the provision of necessary medicines, laboratory tests, diagnostic facilities and other related items to the ward 24 hours a day.

“We will take all possible steps to treat the patients in the best possible way," he added. Thecommittee will also have a record of attendance of all medical staff, including doctors and

paramedical staff. The ward will be responsible for ensuring full attendance of staff in all three shifts as well as correcting matters in case of negligence by any member of staff.