Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has issued orders to make available 500 monitors and 200 ventilators in the province.
The order was issued at a attended by Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, the CM’s Principal Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro, Health Secretary Zahid Abbasi, Prof Dr Bari and other officers concerned of the health department.
As coronavirus cases rise across the province, poorly equipped hospitals are struggling to cope. Based on a statement by Sindh Health Department officials on Wednesday only nine beds and sixty-one ventilators are available in high-dependency units (HDUs) at Karachi’s 10 hospitals.
The meeting informed the chief minister that 927 COVID-19 patients are under treatment in the province, of whom the condition of 235 is critical and 42 people are on ventilators.
The CM announced that Rs2.7 billion have been made available to improve the existing healthcare facilities and to construct two new hospitals in Karachi withing the next month. This includes a 59 bed hospital in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and 200-bed hospital at Nipa. These additions will help ease the burden of the existing resources and cater to a larger body.
