Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Thursday that the number of confirmed patients in Punjab is 13561 with 223 deaths, whereas 4636 patients have recovered and 37 are critically ill. In the last one day 5365 tests have been conducted taking the total number of tests to 147,567 so far in public and private labs in Punjab.
Addressing a press conference at 90 Sahra-i-Quaid-e-Azam, she said that this was third day of softening of restrictions in lockdown. Special Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Ajmal Bhatti, Special Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Nadir Chatha, CEO Mayo Hospital and Expo Center Corona Hospital Professor Asad Aslam and MS Mayo Hospital Tahir Khalil were present on the occasion.
The minister said that the purpose of the press conference was to remind the people that coronavirus threat has not decreased any bit and the public must follow the SOPs given by the government. “We are appealing to the people to observe Social Distancing and follow precautionary measures. People are requested not to leave their homes unnecessarily and especially look after the elders.
The government alone cannot control the spread of the disease unless the people follow the precautionary measures. If, God forbid, the pandemic spreads widely among the population. The number of critically ill patients will also increase creating insurmountable problems for the government.”
The minister also said that best possible treatment is provided to patients in dedicated facilities for Corona. We are greatly concerned about the situation and the government has increased the testing capacity manifold. The minister said, “A demand for forensic audit of the Expo Center Field Hospital was raised by some sections in media including an anchor so I have decided to put in front of everyone the details of the resources and the amount at the hospital. A document was shown carrying estimated figures.
The Expo Center Hospital was set up in a very short span of time, and its estimates are always kept higher than the actual cost. Whenever, the plan for a project is made, all amounts are included in estimates including the operation costs.
Initially, we reserved three government hospitals for corona patients, Mayo Hospital, PKLi and Expo Center Corona Hospital. The Health Department has given away a cheque amounting to only Rs. 7 Crore to the District Administration and its details, as shared by the Deputy Commissioner’s office are presented here. According to their documents, the District Administration has spent only one Rs 1 crore on the partition whereas the estimated cost was kept at Rs 4.5 crore. The procurement of essentials was made at Rs 1 crore, far below the estimates. Even the support from the Philanthropists has been documented for transparency. All government projects including those under emergency measures are always scrutinized by Third Party Auditors and an Audit led by Resident Engineer NESPAK Brig Saeed Malik has already been conducted.
