‘PIMS has 20 coronavirus patients’

Islamabad : Contradicting the official figure released by the Command and Control Centre which has declared 15 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Islamabad as of March 24, the Executive Director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Dr. Ansar Maxood Tuesday maintained that 20 patients in Islamabad had tested positive thus far.

“We had over 1,200 suspected cases at PIMS. Samples of 270 suspected cases were taken, and 20 patients tested positive,” Dr. Ansar apprised the media at a briefing. He said that 9 patients are currently under treatment in the Isolation Ward of PIMS; of these, two are critically ill.

Dr. Ansar said, 10 beds have been reserved to accommodate Coronavirus patients in the Isolation ward, a new ward with 29 beds is being readied, and more wards will be added within the next 15 days. “We will try our level best to ensure there is no shortage of beds,” he added.

The ED said, the administration is working to meet the requirements for protection of the hospital’s nurses and doctors. “Their safety is our foremost priority. We have adequate stocks of surgical masks. Kits and personal protective gear has been provided to doctors and staff involved in the management of confirmed patients in the Isolation Ward,” he said.

Dr. Ansar said, OPDs of PIMS receive 10,000 patients per day. As such, closure of OPDs was deemed necessary to prevent spread of the virus. “The OPDs will remain closed for 2-3 months, during which critical patients will be examined in the Emergency Department,” he stated. NDMA has given 2 ventilators to PIMS, their number will be increased in the coming days.