Pakistan steps up safety efforts as infections rise
HOSPITALS RUNNING OUT OF BEDS, SAY DOCTORS, AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SURGE PAST 100,000
AUTHORITIES in Pakistan stepped up enforcement of government safety measures after a rise in the daily number of coronavirus infections pushed total cases to more than 100,000.
Hospitals warned they are running out of beds to treat patients as official statistics released on Monday (8) showed 103,671 infections and 2,067 deaths from the virus. Record numbers of new infections over the last 10 days partly reflect increased testing.
Prime minister Imran Khan on Monday said he expected the virus to peak “towards the end of July, followed by a gradual downslide”.
Last week a leaked government report suggested there were nearly 700,000 infections in Lahore alone. Doctors at several main hospitals in the historic eastern city said they were running out of beds, ventilators and other vital equipment. “As the cases increase, more health care workers are also falling victim to the virus,” said Farooq Sahil, a doctor at Services Hospital Lahore.
Khizer Hayat, chairman of the Young Doctors Association of
Punjab, said facilities province needed help.
“Hospitals are running out of beds; there aren’t enough ventilators given to us,” he said.
In the southern port city of Karachi, health centres are turning away the sick, with a large sign near the entrance of the Indus hospital stating there was no room for coronavirus patients.
Planning minister Asad Umar, who heads the national coronavirus task force, announced that a package to relieve pressure on hospitals would include 1,000 new beds in major cities.
“The crisis is unfolding now as we have ceased to observe isolation,” said Sikander Ali Memon, who is leading Sindh province’s anti-virus efforts.
In southwestern Balochistan province, government spokesman Liaqat Shahwani said the situation was serious, and authorities were struggling to cope.
Infections among high-profile political personalities are also up, with minister for railways Shaikh Rasheed, and former prime minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan
across
the
Abbasi also testing positive the virus on Monday.
The country lifted its lockdown last month, putting protocols in place for the reopening of markets, industries and public transport, including mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing.
However, planning minister Umar, told a weekend news conference that many markets and shops had been sealed because of non-compliance over the last few days. “First we educated the masses about the protocols, then we warned them, and now, in the last meeting with the prime minister in the chair, we directed administrations to crack down on places where protocols are not being followed,” he said.
Of 23,000 daily tests, more than one in five have been positive over the last 10 days. Before the lockdown was lifted on May 9, the number of tests finding the coronavirus was approximately 1 in 10, government statistics show.
Government officials say safety protocols are not being followed, particularly since just before Eid al-Fitr. (Agencies)
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