Mayor demands central helpline for COVID-19 patients

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar has demanded of the Sindh government to establish a central helpline so that the people could know about the availability of beds and ventilators in hospitals.

Addressing a meeting to oversee measures to treat the coronavirus patients at hospitals under the administrative control of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Akhtar said the patients and their family members should be informed about the availability of beds and ventilators at the helpline round the clock. He said the patients and their family members face hardships in finding space and visit many hospitals. "The patients who need urgent treatment are forced to go to many hospitals."

He said the helpline was the need of the hour for coordination between all hospitals treating the COVID-19 patients. The mayor said there was no mechanism to cope with the coronavirus pandemic as the provincial government could not establish a helpline for the patients.

He said six to seven patients visited filter clinics established by the KMC and they were asked to admit to the hospitals but “they are not being guided at the government-level”. He also expressed severe concerns over a sharp rise in coronavirus patients and appealed to the people to adopt precautionary measures or “else the fatal virus may affect a large number of people”.

Akhtar said the situation was getting worse after the shopping malls, markets and public transport were opened. "Now the number of patients in Pakistan are more than the corona affected people in China," he added.

The mayor said more and more people were testing positive for COVID-19 yet “the people are not taking it seriously”. He said the situation is worse in the rural parts of the province too. "Patients are dying across the country but the people are still unwilling to adopt precautionary measures.”

Akhtar said the traders had assured the government of following the SOPs before the reopening of markets but “unfortunately it could not happen”. He said the people were ignoring the SOPs in the public transport too.

He said the hospitals in Karachi were out of space and if the situation remained the same, the hospitals would not be able to treat more patients. Akhtar also paid tribute to the doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health workers “who are combating from the front by keeping their own lives at stake as several health workers have laid their lives in the line of duty”.

The mayor added that isolation centres had been established at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and the Cardiac Emergency Centre Landhi, and COVID-19 patients could be treated “free of charge here if the Sindh government provides essential kits”.

He said the ASH was the second-largest hospitals in Karachi and had a good infrastructure along with experts and doctors who could cater to a large number of citizens. "The hospital, however, could not treat COVID-19 patients due to the shortage of funds," he added.

He said the people were being guided at filter clinics established by the KMC. He said the doctors, paramedics and other health workers had been provided with personal protective equipment with the help of different NGOs.

He once again appealed to the people to adopt all preventive measures, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, so that the virus did not spread further. "Those who have tested positive should isolate themselves," he added.