KARACHI (Staff Reporter): CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah has said that keeping in view the coronavirus situation his government would intervene to operationalize oxygen plants at steel mills against a cost of Rs1 billion.
“We are passing through a very serious situation; therefore, we have to be prepared to face any emergency.”
This he said while addressing the leading doctors he met at CM House on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Nasir shah, Advisor Murtaz, Chief secretary Mumtaz Shah, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, VC Dow Dr Saeed Qureshi, Dr Bari, Dr Faisal, Dr Shehla Baqi, Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali, Dr Nusrat Shah, DR Raqiq Khokhar, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, Dr Ghaffar Shoro, Dr Sharif Hashmi, Dr Qazi Wasiq, Dr Anoop, Dr Faisal Mahmood, Dr Sabir Memon, Dr Abdul Bari and others.
AT the outset of the meeting the chief minister said that the new wave of coronavirus has badly affected various major cities of Pakistan. “We are also facing its severity and trying to take measures whatever seems to be feasible to control the situation,” he said and added the purpose of meeting with the leading doctors was to review the situation and firm up the recommendations for containing the virus.
The doctors appreciated the preparatory efforts of the chief minister right from the first wave and said the establishment of Infectious Disease Hospital in Karachi, provision of ventilators to every district and recruitment of doctors and para-medical staff were commendable.
They urged the chief minister to make necessary arrangements for production of oxygen. “When timely oxygen is given to a patient his changes to go to the ventilators are reduced,” Dr Qaiser Sajjad said and added the provincial government should take necessary measures to operationalize oxygen plants of Pakistan steel mills.
The chief minister said that a team of the federal government had visited Pakistan Steel Mill plant and reported that it could not be revived. “We held a meeting with the people of Pakistan Steel Mills at Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto and they told us that it could be revived within three month at a cost of Rs1 billion,” he said and added he would send his expert team to visit the plant and if it was worth to revive the provincial government was ready to spend Rs1 billion. “We need oxygen for which we would take all our efforts,” he vowed.
The doctors suggested the government to strictly enforce implementation of COVID SOPS. “At present the situation in Sindh is not as bad it is in other provinces but our Hyderabad, East and South have been affected badly,” he pointed out.
The chief minister said that he has directed administration and the police to work in close coordination and ensure proper implementation of the SOPs. He added that the Karachi administration on Monday issued 93 warnings for non-wearing of masks. 28 shops/Markets were challaned for opening beyond closing timing and recovered RS504,500 fine and 510 shops/markets were sealed, 13 people arrested and 271 were issued warning, the CM said and added that 71 transporters were challaned for violating government orders and recovered a Rs35,000 challan. Similarly, three restaurants were challaned for Rs28,000 fine was recovered and one restaurant was sealed and nine issued warnings.
He said we as a government were taking drastic measures but the doctors, ulemas and other compelling personalities must play a role to educate people against COVID.
The doctors suggested the chief minister vaccinate people in Old Age homes for which he directed secretary health to vaccinate them.
On the advice of the doctors the chief minister decided to facilitate private hospitals use the government hospital cold storage chain to store COVID vaccines and start vaccination.
Murad Ali Shah told the doctors that the government kept auditing its health facilities to ensure availability of all the required and relevant material.
The chief minister thanked the doctors for their support and urged them to keep guiding the health department during the on-going pandemic.
COVID-19 claims nine more patients, infects 1,122 others
Sharing the current COVID situation, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that nine more patients died overnight lifting the death toll to 4,687 and 1,122 new cases emerged lifting the tally to 287,642. Mr Shah said that nine more patients died overnight lifting the death toll to 4,687 that constituted 1.6 percent death rate. The CM added that 15,297 tests were conducted which diagnosed 1,112 new cases that came to 7.3 percent current detection rate. He added that so far 3,695,977 tests have been conducted which diagnosed 287,642 cases that constituted an overall eight percent detection rate. Murad Ali Shah said that overnight 612 patients recovered and so far 266,388 patients have recovered that constituted 92.6 percent recovery rate. He said that currently 16,567 patients were under treatment, of them 15,939 were home in isolation, no one at isolation centers and 628 at different hospitals. He added that the condition of 592 patients was stated to be critical, including 56 have been shifted to ventilators. According to the chief minister out of 1,122 new cases, 427 have been detected from Karachi, including 2111 from East, 112 South, 58 Central, 19 West, 15 Malir and 12 Korangi. Hyderabad has 286 new cases, Sukkur 65, Dadu 37, Matiari 34, Larkana 31, ShaheedBenazirabad 28, Ghotki 25, Tando Allahyar 24, Tando Muhammad Khan 23, Mirpurkhas 21, Badin 20, Thatta 16, Sanghar 15, Qamber 10, NausheroFeroze and Shikarpur nine each, Khairpur eight, Kashmore seven, Jamshoro three, Jacobabad two and Sujwal one.
