KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Wednesday that an infectious disease hospital (IDH) established along University Road, opposite NED University, would start operation on July 10.

He issued these directives to Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and the vice chancellor of Dow University during his visit to the hospital on Wednesday morning.

The chief minister, accompanied by the health minister, visited the 50-bed double-storey hospital, which has a six-bed intensive care unit (ICU) and a high dependency unit (HDU). He visited each ward and personally witnessed operation of the radiology department, ventilators and oxygen system and the IT unit.

It is in fact the Dow University Dental Hospital which has been converted into the infectious disease hospital by the chief minister, injecting necessary funding and staff into it.

Coronavirus claims 29 more lives

The chief minister directed the health department to post well-trained healthcare staff in the hospital and make it functional by July 10. “This hospital will be of great help to treat Covid-19 patients, even if any of them need only oxygen support or ventilators,” he said and added that the X-ray unit/radiology department facility would also help save the lives of serious patients by diagnosing their chest complication. “This is a best facility that offers complete healthcare to Covid-19 patients,” he said.

The chief minister said that in next 15 to 20 days, a 200-bed hospital for Covid-19 patients would start functioning at NIPA. “Alhamdulillah, we have managed to establish separate healthcare facilities for the corona patients in Karachi and we will be expanding it to every divisional headquarters,” he said.

Coronavirus claims 29 more lives

As many as 2,139 new cases of the novel coronavirus were detected after testing 8,201 samples and 29 more patients died overnight, lifting the death toll in the province to 1,406.

This was stated by Murad Ali Shah in a press statement issued here on Wednesday. He said 8,201 samples were tested against which 2,139 new cases of the coronavirus were detected that constituted a 28 per cent detection rate, one of the highest rates so far. The chief minister said that 461,587 samples had been tested so far, which diagnosed 86,139 cases all over Sindh, forming a 19pc overall detection rate.

Mr Shah said that 29 more patients lost their lives while struggling against the virus. He added that the number of Covid-19 patients that had died so far had risen to 1,406, constituting 1.6pc death rate.

The CM said that 1,703 more patients recovered and returned to normal life overnight. “The number of patients recovered so far comes to 48,527, constituting a 56pc recovery rate,” he said.

Mr Shah said that currently out of 36,803 under-treatment patients, 35,131 were in home isolation, 158 at isolation centres and 1,514 at different hospitals. He added that currently 707 patients were in critical condition, of them 104 were on ventilators.

Giving district-wise data, the chief minister said that out of 2,139 new cases, 1,038 belonged to Karachi. Among them district East had 401, South 258, Central 125, Korangi 101, Malir 82 and West had 71 cases.

He added that Hyderabad had 129 new cases, Sukkur 86, Shikarpur 70, Sanghar 66, Larkana 58, Shaheed Benazirabad 50, Mirpurkhas 36, Ghotki 31, Badin 29, Dadu 24, Jacobabad 24, Jamshoro 12, Naushahro Feroze 10, Khairpur nine, Matiari eight, Sujawal five, Kashmore three, and Tando Allahyar Khan, Tando Mohammad Khan and Thatta had one case each.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2020