COVID-19: Sindh CM inaugurates 140-bed HDU facility at Karachi's Expo Centre

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inaugurated a 140-bed High Dependency Unit (HDU), established in collaboration with Pakistan Army, at Expo Centre in Karachi on Sunday.

The initiative was taken to strengthen provincial health services and to ensure timely treatment of coronavirus patients in Sindh.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by information minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and senior military and civilian officials.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that the HDU has been housed in four rooms with a capacity of 140-oxygen beds.

“I really appreciate [Pakistan] Army for establishing this HDU within 10 days. It [will] prove to be [the] best facility located in the heart of the city."

Shah went on to add that the army is doing its best to support the Sindh government in containing the virus across the province. "The establishment of a new HDU at Expo Centre would help to reduce burden on other hospitals of the city," he said.

The chief minister noted that the army has posted highly trained healthcare staff at the HDU and the Indus Hospital will also provide support services in operating the unit.

He said that at present, the Sindh government has already established a number of health facilities for COVID-19 patients with 453 beds available in Intensive Care Units (ICU) and 1,553 beds available in HDUs across the province.

Moreover, another 140-bed HDU and 1,200-bed field hospital at Expo Centre have been "added in the system".

Later in the day, the provincial minister also visited Services Hospital where the construction of a separate unit for COVID-19 patients is underway. He directed concerned engineers to expedite the work so that it can kickstart its operation as soon as possible.

2,275 new cases, 41 deaths reported

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Chief Minister House said that the province had conducted 13,890 tests in the last 24 hours, of which 2,275 (17%) were diagnosed positive.

In the past day, 41 more patients succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 1,089 across province, comprising 1.5% of all cases.

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“Our testing capacity is the highest in Pakistan and we are still working hard to further enhance the capacity,” said the chief minister.

The minister said that so far 378,849 samples have been tested against which 69,628 cases have surfaced across Sindh, accounting for 18.4% of total tests conducted.

Speaking about recoveries, he said that 2,166 more patients have recovered and returned to a normal life, taking the total to 36,278, which accounts for a 52.2% recovery rate.

“Still, we have to improve our recovery rate and reduce the death rate by strengthening our health services and convincing people to follow the issued precautionary measures," Shah said.

Touching upon the patients under treatment at various hospitals across province, the minister said that about 32,261 patients were under treatment, out of which, 30,705 were isolating at home, 48 were at isolation centres, and 1,508 were treated at different hospitals.

“I am sorry to inform that 718 patients are in critical condition out of which 117 have been shifted on ventilators," Shah lamented.

Breakdown of province's cases

Presenting a district-wise breakdown of the 1,280 cases reported from Karachi, the minister said that 395 were reported from East, 363 from South, 172 from Central, 140 from Korangi, 111 from West and 99 reported from Malir district.

From cases reported in other cities of the province, Shah said that within last 24 hours, Ghotki reported 74 cases, whereas, Sukkur reported 72, Khairpur 64, Hyderabad 63, Mirpurkhas 38, Shikarpur 38, Shaheed Benazirabad 36, Kashmore 33, Thatta 28, Larkana 24, Jamshoro 13, Nasushehroferoze 12, Umerkot 11, Tando Allahyar 10, Kambar three, Sujawal two, Tundo Muhammad Khan two, and Matiari and Dadu reported six cases each.

While reiterating the need for people to support the selective lockdown, the minister also urged them to avoid going out of their homes unnecessarily.