PESHAWAR: With coronavirus claiming 36 more lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the health department has said it will establish anti-virus vaccination centres in 17 more districts within three days.

According to the department, eight vaccination centres will be set up in major hospitals, four in Category A hospitals, three in Category C hospitals and two in Category D hospitals.

“The director general (health services) has issued directives for the activation of vaccination centres within three days and speedy vaccination of citizens aged 50 years and above,” an official said.

He said the chief minister had ordered the department to establish more and more vaccination centres.

According to health officials, the province recorded 36 deaths from the virus during the last 24 hours.

They said 11 people died of Covid-19 and 235 were infected with it in Peshawar.

IGP wants police personnel vaccinated on priority basis

The officials said after the detection of virus in 235 more people, the number of such cases in the district reached 45,614.

They said 8,230 new tests were carried out across the province in one day taking the number of such tests to 1,585,295.

The officials said active Covid-19 cases in the province totalled 12,141, while 800 patients recovered in the last 24 hours.

They said the province had so far vaccinated 91,626 residents.

According to them, the first dose of SinoPharm has been given to 54,267 health workers and the second to 34,831.

A total of 13,5847 elderly people have so far received first dose of the vaccine in the province and 48,871 the second.

The officials said the vaccination of the people against the virus was under way in hospitals with 22,263 health workers and senior citizens being given the vaccine in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Sanaullah Abbasi on Friday said like health workers, the police personnel should be vaccinated against coronavirus as a priority as they’re risking their lives as frontline workers in the war against coronavirus.

He said the police department would formally contact the relevant authorities for the purpose.

Addressing a ceremony here at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines here, the IGP commended the traffic officers and personnel from Malakand, Mardan and Hazara divisions for ensuring the effective enforcement of coronavirus-related SOPs during the current third wave.

He later presented cash prizes and certificates of appreciation to the officers and personnel of highway police of Malakand, Mardan and Hazara divisions.

VENTILATORS: Majority of ventilators reserved for coronavirus patients at the Hayatabad Medical Complex have been occupied as the number of cases are increasing, said the health department.

According to the department, the HMC has 68 ventilators and 38 of them are reserved for coronavirus patients. More than 90 per cent of the ventilators reserved Covid-19 cases have been occupied by the patients in critical condition.

The department said the HMC had reserved 204 beds for coronavirus patients and 150 of them were occupied.

It also said the Lady Reading Hospital had 485 beds for such cases and 375 of them were used by patients.

The department said 29 coronavirus patients were admitted to the intensive care unit of the Lady Reading Hospital, while of the 106 beds reserved for such cases at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, 103 were occupied.

It added that around 25 patients were on the bilevel positive airway pressure) and one on ventilator.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2021