COVID-19 cases on the rise: No shortage of PPEs, ventilators: NDMA chief

As there is no let-up in the coronavirus cases, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal Tuesday said that there was no shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and ventilators to treat the COVID-19 patients in the country.
Speaking at a presser here, he said that currently there were 4,200 ventilators in public and private sector hospitals in addition to 500 ventilators in military hospices.
He said only 128 patients were on ventilators all over the country, adding around 1,350 of 4,200 ventilators were being used for the coronavirus patients - less than the 50 percent capacity of the country.
He continued that it was expected that 2,000 ventilators would be required by June end for which, a contingency plan had already been prepared. According to him, the NDMA has 183 intensive care unit ventilators in its warehouses as well as oxygen, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines till date.
The NDMA chief said that the country had given orders to procure over 1,300 ventilators from various countries, adding the US had also offered to donate 200 ventilators and half of them would reach here shortly.
"Peshawar will be the first to receive the machines, then Karachi and then the rest of the country," he added.
About availability of beds for the coronavirus patients, he said that we have over 10,944 ICU beds in 365 government hospitals across the country, and only 2,211 of them are in use, which is 20 percent below the available capacity.
Besides, 52 private hospitals with a capacity of 679 ICU beds have also been lined up to meet any emergency, adding these hospitals have 679 ICU beds and could accommodate up to 6,500 patients at a time.
"Any patient of coronavirus, who is denied a bed at any hospital from any part of the country, can register his/her complaint on 111-157-157," he added. Afzal said that the country has become self-sufficient in manufacturing medical equipment to treat the coronavirus patients.
However, he appealed to the masses to strictly adhere to laid down standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent further spread of the deadly disease and to protect themselves and others.
Giving details of the NDMA's efforts to eliminate locust attack in various parts of the country, he said that massive operation was going on in Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Faisalabad divisions along with Okara, Bhakar, and Layyah districts.
"We've enough stock of pesticides to check locust attack in the country and hopefully we'll overcome the challenge," he declared. He said China had provided 100,000 liters of Malathion and 75,000 liters Lambda, while 50,000 liters of latter would come from Japan.
He said the NDMA too had ordered to procure 100,000 liters each of those pesticides to undertake spray against locust. He said that the government had also arranged nine planes for aerial spray in various parts of the country including Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
He said locust could enter Pakistan from Iran and Muscat in first and second week of the next month. "We've deployed aeroplanes with sufficient spray equipment and pesticides in DG Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, and along the Iran border to kill the insect then and there," he added.
He said arrangements had also been made to undertake anti-locust spray in deserts of Thar and Cholistan. He said that the authority had also prepared plans to meet any flood situation in the coming days.