Karachi public hospitals have 398 ICU ventilators, health department says

KARACHI: As Covid-19 surge in the fourth wave mars the medical sector capacity to deal with arising challenges, Sindh’s health department has admitted Thursday it has 398  intensive care unit (ICU) ventilators across the metropolis while there 906 high dependency unit (HDU) ventilators as secondary support, ARY News reported.

The health department said it has 906 HDU beds at service while 296 low-oxygen beds are available as well.

It said by August 4, there will be an addition of 32 ICU ventilators in the city’s public sector hospitals. 110 DHU beds and 40 low flow beds will also be added to the medical support to resist the fight against Covid.

Separately, the Sindh health department has also noted it will establish a 100-bed isolation centre in Malir district for everyone entering the city from outside and showing symptoms.

Pakistan reports 4,497 new Covid-19 cases, highest in two months

It is pertinent to note that on the national front, Pakistan has reported the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases in two months with 4,497 new cases over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said.

The country last recorded more than 4,000 cases in a single day on May 21, when 4,007 new cases were reported.

The NCOC said that the country’s number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,020,324, including 935,742 recoveries, adding that the positivity rate of infections was recorded at 7.53 per cent.