1,200-bed field isolation centre for corona cases inaugurated

The volunteers who were enlisted to help the Sindh government campaign against the COVID-19 emergency in the province inaugurated on Thursday the 1,200-bed field isolation centre established at the Expo Centre.

The opening ceremony was conducted in the presence of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Humayun Aziz, provincial health minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and other senior officials.

The governor later inspected the facility and appreciated the availability of the necessary equipment and medicines there. He announced on the occasion the donation of 5,000 protective suits for the personnel treating coronavirus patients at the centre.

The federal and Sindh governments had played an important role in the provision of the necessary funds, medicines and equipment as well as a reverse-osmosis water filtration plant for the field isolation facility.

The centre will be used for housing only the verified cases of COVID-19. The Pakistan Army has provided all-out support to the government for setting up the facility.

The centre has a general isolation ward and an intensive care unit for providing state-of-the-art services to patients for treating the cases of the pandemic.

The governor said that the reason the volunteers were chosen to inaugurate the field isolation facility was to laud the spirit of volunteerism in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said health care professionals and volunteers have been at the forefront of the global campaign against the viral disease. He also said the spirit demonstrated by the Pakistan Army in the fight against the coronavirus is also commendable.

Ismail said the federal and provincial governments, the Pakistan Army and the National Disaster Management Authority have been working in excellent coordination with each other to collectively fight against the pandemic.

He said the federal government is fully committed to using the maximum of its resources to contribute to the struggle against the health crisis under way across the country.

He urged philanthropists and charities to make donations so that the field isolation centre remains functional for as long as it is needed. He said the facility has been established following the World Health Organisation’s safety guidelines against the spread of the coronavirus.

The patients to be admitted to the centre will be provided with the facility of video calling to stay in touch with the people outside.

There will be separate entry and exit passages for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff at the

isolation centre. Health Minister Dr Azra said on the occasion that the provincial government would continue to provide the utmost support for the functioning of the field isolation facility as it had for the setting up of the centre.

Vigilant Rangers

Governor Ismail also met Sindh Rangers Director General Maj Gen Omar Ahmed Bukhari at the Governor House. Ismail appreciated the services of the paramilitary force for implementing the government’s lockdown orders in the province to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

The governor said that the vigilant Rangers have been tirelessly rendering their services for the purpose. He said the law enforcement and security officials present in the field and manning various checkpoints on the roads have been performing vital duties as part of the nationwide campaign against the coronavirus.

The Sindh Rangers chief said on the occasion that the paramilitary force would fully act on the orders of the government in furthering the campaign against the viral disease.