close
Thursday March 28, 2024

DCs told to set up isolation centres, send extra ventilators to tertiary facilities

By Our Correspondent
April 04, 2020

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed all the district hospitals to provide their extra ventilators and other equipment to tertiary care hospitals in Sindh so that serious patients of coronavirus could be shifted and treated there.

He issued these directives on Friday while presiding over a meeting on health-related issues. The meeting was attended by Minister For Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro and Secretary Health Zahid Abbasi. All the divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, district health officers (DHOs) and elected representatives of different areas attended the meeting from their districts through video link.

The chief minister said that there were six tertiary care hospitals in the province, except that in Karachi. They are in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Gambat, Khairpur, Larkana and Nawabshah. In these hospitals, the provincial government has developed best facilities to treat coronavirus patients with severe symptoms.

“I have issued directives to all the district health officers (DHOs) to send in their extra ventilators and other equipment to tertiary care hospitals and once the endemic is over these ventilators and equipment would be returned to their respective hospitals,” he said and directed the DHOs to expedite their exercise in this regard.

Shah also talked to each and every deputy commissioner, DHOs and elected representatives and inquired of them about the isolation centers/facilities they had set up in their respective districts. He also urged them to be vigilant in their work.

The chief minister said that over 4,500 people of the Tableeghi Jamaat had returned to the province and most of them had been diagnosed as positive for the viral epidemic. Therefore, he directed all the deputy commissioners to keep the Tableeghi Jamaat people in isolation. Those who have been diagnosed as being the positive corona cases, their family members and others with whom they had been in close contact may also be kept in isolation at their respective homes. In case of serious condition, the patient in this regard should be shifted to the nearest designated hospital, he said.

Shah directed the deputy commissioners to provide food, water, fruit and tea to the people of Tableeghi Jamaat at isolation centres. He also directed them to provide them ‘jai namaz’ and a copy of the holy Quran for recitation.

SOP

The chief minister said that there was an SOP for doing the coronavirus testing. Under the SOP, the person with travel history and symptoms was required to be tested. Without symptoms or suspicion, nobody would be tested.

The chief minister also directed the deputy commissioners to ensure proper lockdown in their respective districts.

The health minister said that there were 14 medical experts who would visit different districts and train the paramedical staff on how to take a sample of a suspect and send the same to Karachi or Hyderabad for doing the coronavirus testing.