KARACHI: The Sindh government has announced to set up a 100-bed isolation facility in District Malir to quarantine passengers coming to Karachi airport amid the rising cases from abroad.
According to details, the decision was taken at a top-level meeting held at the Sindh Secretariat with Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah in the chair.
The chief secretary has directed the Karachi commissioner and Malir deputy commissioner to establish a 100-bed facility to isolate passengers diagnosed with coronavirus.
A similar 100-bed COVID-19 isolation facility would also be established at the Karachi Expo Centre. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) would provide all the necessary facilities in this regard.
The meeting also decided to increase the intensive care unit (ICU) beds with ventilators and beds with oxygen support at all the government-run hospitals.
Sindh Health Secretary Dr Kazim Jatoi informed the meeting that the medical superintendents of all the government-run hospitals of the city had been authorised to recruit people on an immediate basis to overcome the shortage of staff.
During the meeting, the chief secretary said that the health care facilities in the city had been under immense pressure due to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients.
The meeting was informed that till August 4, 32 ventilators, 110 HDU beds, 40 beds having the facility of oxygen would be added to the government-run hospitals of the city. Eight more ventilators and many HDU beds would also be provided to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital in Karachi.
Meanwhile, Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Nasir Shah appealed to the businessmen, civil society members and other stakeholders in Karachi to strictly follow the standard operating procedures issued by the government against the spread of coronavirus infections.
