LAHORE: The positivity rate of cases witnessed slight decline to 3.96 percent in Punjab province, as out of 16,617 tests conducted during the last 24 hours, 659 fresh virus cases and 29 deaths were reported taking the provincial tally of cases to 138,608 and fatalities to 4042.
With recovery of 329 more people, the number of recovered patients has reached to 123,598 in the province.
As per break up of virus cases and deaths due to corona in major cities of the province, Lahore has so far reported 68301 cases and 1601 deaths, Rawalpindi 13149 cases and 718 deaths, Faisalabad 7607 cases and 345 deaths, Multan 8630 cases and 305 deaths and Sialkot reported 2987 cases and 121 deaths.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said: “As many as 18 BSL-2 Labs have been set up in Punjab. The government is hoping that the vaccine may reach Pakistan by February. We have reserved adequate amount for Coronavirus vaccine. The government will start a new hospital at Egerton Road, Lahore. On this 1000-bedded hospital, 400 beds shall be allocated for cardiac patients. After the construction of Mother and Child Hospital at Ganga Ram, thousands of lives shall be saved. Seven Mother and Child Hospitals in different districts including Attock, Rajanpur, Sialkot and Lahore are being set up. The idea behind these hospitals is to save lives of mother and child.”
The Minister said, “So far Sehat Sahulat Cards have been provided to 5.2 million families in Punjab. By December 2021, Universal Health Coverage shall be provided to all 25 million families of Punjab. We are trying to provide healthcare to all citizens without putting extra burden on finances. The purpose of MTI Act is to improve the quality of services at public sector hospitals.
So far we have hired 32,000 doctors, nurses and Paramedical staff. We are implementing 10-year Punjab Health Sector Strategy. The PMC reservations shall be conveyed to the Federal government. Medical is a prophetic profession. Doctors are saving precious lives. With the efforts of our doctors, we shall prevail over the second wave of Coronavirus Pandemic as we did in the first wave.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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