LAHORE: The Punjab Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SHC&MED) on Tuesday informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that teaching hospitals across the province currently possess a total of 1,785 ventilators and the process had been launched to procure additional 500 ICU ventilators in FY 2025-26.

The department’s special secretary submitted a progress report to the court on medical infrastructure and the ongoing management of infectious diseases.

The report, filed in connection with a writ petition by Judicial Activism Panel, outlines updates on ventilators’ availability and the current status of the infectious disease – mpox (monkeypox) in the province.

The report informed the court that it was aggressively expanding critical care capacity. It said a total of 200 ICU ventilators procured during 2025 had been distributed to various tertiary care hospitals.

Health dept submits report on mpox situation

Mpox: The health department’s report provided a detailed briefing on mpox (MPOX) situation, linking initial cases to international travelers, but warns of a significant shift towards local transmission.

The report revealed that 100 suspected cases were reported, including 34 confirmed, during 2025.

As many as 94 suspected cases and 48 confirmed cases had been documented this year, it added.

The report noted that the spread is primarily occurring through close physical contact in crowded settings.

Advocate Azhar Siddique, on behalf of the petitioner, argued that the government’s report showed that the number of ventilators fell short of the minimum standards set by WHO. Moreover, he said, the statistics presented by the health department were needed to be physically verified by a court-appointed committee.

Justice Malik Awais Khalid adjourned the hearing till April 23 for further arguments.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2026