LAHORE: The Punjab government has opened a 280-bed dengue field hospital at Expo Centre in the provincial capital to deal with increasing number of dengue patients.

Doctors from General Hospital, Services Hospital, Jinnah Hospital and Mayo Hospital have been deputed at the field hospital and a duty roster for them has been placed. Dr Asad Aslam Khan has been made the focal person for the field hospital.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid inaugurated the hospital on Sunday. She visited various units to see the arrangements made to deal with dengue patients where Special Secretary Ajmal Bhatti and Consultant Asad Aslam Khan gave her briefing.

Speaking on the occasion, the health minister said the doctors, nurses and paramedics had been deputed at the hospital with sufficient oxygen and medicine supplies. She said the field hospital would remain functional for 24 hours and the complete blood count (CBC) test result would be made available within 45 seconds.

Minister says no shortage of beds; 177 new dengue cases in Lahore

“The patients testing positive would be admitted to the hospital whereas those testing negative would be given medicines.”

Ms Rashid said free treatment for fever would be given in all hospitals and all tests would also be conducted free of cost.

Claiming that there was no shortage of beds for dengue patients in Lahore, she said the number of beds were being enhanced with increase in the number of patients. The health minister said 1,476 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised in Punjab and 51 of them were critically ill.

“We have 249 patients on ventilators currently in the government hospitals and the government was working day and night to control dengue fever as well as the coronavirus,” she said.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Medical University Prof Shirin Khawar, Pro-Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Prof Dr Ijaz Hussain, Chairman DEAG Prof Dr Tanveerul Islam, Mayo Hospital MS Dr Iftikhar, Services Hospital MS Dr Ehtashamul Haq, Jinnah Hospital MS Dr Yahya Sultan, Expo Field Hospital MS Dr Asim and other officials were also present.

DENGUE: As many as 226 confirmed cases of dengue were reported across the province during the last 24 hours.

As many as 177 cases were reported in Lahore, 22 in Rawalpindi, four each from Sargodha and Hafizabad, three from Multan and two each from Attock and Okara.

As many as 3,750 dengue cases were reported from across the province during this year and 2,999 from Lahore. A total of 397 patients are admitted to hospitals across Punjab out of which 208 patients are admitted to hospitals of Lahore while 189 patients are admitted to other districts of the entire Punjab.

In the last 24 hours, 399,094 indoor locations were checked across Punjab while 79,804 outdoor locations were checked, while larvae were destroyed from 1,919 locations. In Lahore 53,409 indoor places were checked for dengue larvae, 6,816 outdoor locations were examined and 1,261 positive containers were destroyed.

Primary and Secondary Department Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said precautionary measures against dengue should also be taken besides taking steps against the Corona epidemic.

He appealed to all the religious scholars of Punjab to inform the worshipers coming to the mosques about the prevention of dengue.He further said that the public is requested to extend full cooperation to the health department teams if they come to your home or business centres for the checking of larvae, as dengue can be very fatal and is a very dangerous fever which can cause death.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2021