LAHORE: The ventilator occupancy in Lahore and the rest of Punjab has dropped considerably to 35 and 33pc, respectively, showing a visible decline in the number of critical patients of the Covid-19.

According to some media reports, the occupancy had reached almost 100pc about a month back.

The health experts also confirmed that the burden of the patients, including those requiring high-flow oxygen, was on the decline in hospitals. They said the isolation wards were also admitting less number of patients, particularly during last a week or so.

The official data indicated that out of total 1,019 ventilators designated for the Covid patients in Punjab’s public and private hospitals, 372 were occupied while others were lying vacant.

The situation is same in the high dependency units of hospitals where the bed occupancy has dropped to 30 per cent.

35 more die of coronavirus

The data shows that out of 4,046 beds designated at the HDUs of hospitals, 1,211 were occupied while others were lying vacant.

According to the official update on Covid released on Saturday, 35 more critical patients on ventilators in Punjab’s hospitals died of virus during the last 24 hours.

Of them, 13 breathed their last in Lahore. The total number of the Covid deaths has reached 9,739 in Punjab, so far.

The total number of the infections in Punjab has reached 333,057 after 1,057 more people tested positive for the virus during the last 24 hours. Of them, 475 were reported from Lahore alone. The experts think Punjab has reported five percent infectivity rate during last 24 hours, showing a decline in new cases.

However, they consider the situation in Multan and some other cities of South Punjab as still alarming.

Quoting the official figures, an official says, the occupancy rate in the intensive care units of the public hospitals of Multan has reached 70pc.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2021