ISLAMABAD: The largest public-sector hospital in Islamabad Polyclinic is facing a shortage of medical staff after more than 180 doctors and nurses testing positive for the COVID-19.
During the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, 100 doctors, 120 nurses and 150 paramedical staff of Polyclinic were severely affected by the virus, a Polyclinic spokesperson said on Monday.
As many as 42 doctors, 72 nurses and 68 paramedical staff were placed in quarantine after contracting the virus, Abdul Jabbar Bhutto, the hospital representative said.
He said the hospital was facing a shortage of staff due to the rapid and vast spread of the virus among doctors and nurses. Adding that to cope with the situation, a strategy has been devised to extract maximum work from the remaining staff.
The hospital plants to call only those healthcare professionals to resume work who develop antibodies against the virus, according to the spokesperson. A third isolation ward with 37 beds has also been inaugurated for Covid-19 patients.
The capital had reported more than 700 Covid-19 cases for the third time since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year with the positivity rate hitting 10.74 percent.
Pakistan recorded 4,525 cases from COVID-19 as the situation worsens from the novel coronavirus and the government tightens restrictions and violations of safety precautions.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the coronavirus has claimed 41 more lives across the country during the past 24 hours as the overall death toll reaches 14,256.
The total number of cases recorded in the country ever since the pandemic began has crossed reached 658,116. The total count of active cases is 46,663 while 3,055 are in critical condition. The positivity rate has increased and now stands at 11.2 percent.
