KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to make operational the field hospital at Expo Centre, directing all government and private hospitals to move confirmed coronavirus cases to the 1,200-bed facility from Monday (today), officials and sources said on Sunday.

The provincial health department had asked health officers of Karachi through a letter to implement the orders from April 6 and move all positive cases whether with severe or mild symptoms to Expo Centre.

“Karachi has the largest number of patients in the province,” said an official citing reason behind the latest move. “There’s also influx of patients in the city from rural parts of the province. The situation in isolation wards of different hospitals is not that bad but the health department doesn’t want them to become saturated. So before it’s too late, it has decided to utilise the facility.”

The Pakistan Army has assisted the provincial government in setting up the 1,200-bed field hospital at Expo Centre late last month. The authorities have plans to expand it to 10,000-bed facility in the next few weeks.

A special quarantine centre has been established by the Pakistan Army, where it will ensure that the patients are facilitated.

“The hospital is meant to isolate and treat confirmed patients of the coronavirus in a safe and secure environment, away from common people and other patients in the city,” said the official. “A battalion of the Army Medical Corps from Malir Cantonment comprising doctors, paramedics, nurses, pathologists and technicians participated in establishing the field hospital.”

The Medical Corps, he said, had come forward to help in the establishment of the field hospital on the request of the Sindh government.

“The Sindh government will bear all expenses of the establishment of the facility,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had said while briefing about the initial plan of the field hospital. “Initially, the Medical Corps battalion will establish a 500-bed isolation and treatment facility in one of the halls of the Expo Centre, and if need arose, more halls would be utilised to add more facilities.”

According to the detailed plan, in the hall, beds, medicines and necessary equipment have been made available, as the medical corps, civil doctors and paramedical staff members are also deployed at the field hospital.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2020