KARACHI: Five of the 17 coronavirus patients are kept on ventilators while the rest are under observation in the isolation ward at the Ojha campus of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).

This information was shared by DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Saeed Quraishy while talking to reporters on Friday.

“Of the 1,030 tests conducted for coronavirus so far, 103 are positive, which means 90 per cent are negative.

“But this description may not be representative of the total number of infected patients as only those were tested who were either experiencing severe symptoms or had a history of travelling to a high-risk country,” he explained.

Answering a question, Prof Quraishy said the university had now increased its capacity for diagnosing coronavirus from 300 to 1,000 tests daily with the arrival of more testing equipment.

About casualties, he said two patients had died of Covid-19 at the hospital. One of them had other health complications also, he added.

“We are treating patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine and other drugs, which is giving positive outcomes in most cases. A research team is working on treatment modification and monitoring the patients round the clock, analysing drug efficacy.”

He also informed the reporters that considering the difficulties being caused to patients due to outpatient departments’ (OPDs) closure, the university had planned to start a free telemedicine clinic where specialists of gynaecology, medicine, surgery and psychiatry would be available for consultation from 9am to 2pm for six days on telephone number 021-38732032.

Online courses

Meanwhile, Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) has started an online course for the doctors dealing with Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country.

JSMU Vice Chancellor Prof Syed Mohammed Tariq Rafi said the course focused on the dual challenge of keeping healthcare providers abreast with the management practices of Covid-19 and ensuring their own safety as they battled coronavirus on the front lines.

The two-hour online course has been prepared by JSMU’s Institute of Family Medicine and APPNA Institute of Public Health.

The course is available free of cost on JSMU website: www.jsmu.edu.pk.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2020