PM Imran Khan opened 250-bed Infectious Disease Hospital in Islamabad to treat and research
Imran Khan inaugurated a 250-bed Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC), the first of its kind in the country, in Islamabad. The hospital was built in a record 40 days.
Cheif of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, and Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Shibli Faraz were present among other dignitaries.
The IHITC Islamabad consists of five wards having single rooms and an ICU each, two general wards, emergency unit, diagnostics, radiology and pathology laboratory, a mortuary and incinerator.
It also has specialized HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning), CCTV, intercom, HIMS (Health Information Management System) & LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System).
Caution for Eid ul Azha
At the occasion, the Prime Minister urged the nation to be careful about the upcoming Eid ul Azha is the virus spread can accelerate during the festive occasion. Eid is expected to fall on Friday, July 31 and the government may just give one official holiday this time around.
“Today, I want to make a special appeal to you all: if we are careless on Eidul Azha, the virus could spread again and there could be a fresh spike in the number of infections. Hospitals will come under pressure again,” said Khan.
“People didn’t think that the virus spreads more quickly when people gather in one place,” he said referring to Eid ul Fiter. “As a result, our hospitals and health workers were pressurized, the virus peaked and there were many deaths.”
Lower numbers reported
The number of daily new cases being reported has lowered. A few weeks back, the number of new positive cases was in excess of 6,000. However, it is not less than 3,500 cases. According to official reports, 3,359 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. 61 people lost their lives during the same period.
Overall, about 241,000 people have tested positive thus far. More than 145,000 have recovered while almost 5,000 people lost their lives to the virus. Globally, Pakistan has the 12th most number of positive cases of COVID-19.