'New drug being administered to seriously ill patients'

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Saturday doctors in Punjab are now eyeing another drug Actemra (tocilizumab) that has the potential to rapidly shorten the recovery period by increasing oxygen levels for the novel coronavirus patients.
"Around 10 to 15 patients were administered the drug via an injection, and they recovered 86 percent. However, the drug is very expensive, and a single day's dose costs Rs120,000," she said, adding: "We have decided to initiate proper trials for the medicine and begin procuring it."
Briefing the media at a press conference here on Saturday, Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the trial of blood plasma therapy duly approved by Drap was also being initiated.
"Around 200 Covid-19 recovered patients were contacted out of whom 37 agreed to donate their blood plasma, and after getting the same, trials of plasma therapy would be started in Punjab," she said.
She affirmed that none of the patients volunteering for the trials would be identified, and transparency was being ensured at all levels. Initially, Punjab was also conducting trials of hydroxychloroquine, but dropped it because it wasn't showing much progress, she added.
She admitted that the number of COVID-19 patients as well as the number of deaths was increasing, but she said the same could be reduced by following the SoPs and other precautionary measures.
She advised the people at home who had symptoms of the coronavirus to call Rescue 1122 immediately and get in touch with the rescue officials instead of going to a health facility on their own and infecting others.
"A control room has been set up at Lahore's Mayo Hospital that will guide you
where to take the suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients once you call Rescue 1122; the control room has access to the mobile application that shows the number of beds and ventilators available at hospitals," Dr Rashid said, adding: "The Punjab Health Department's website is updated on a daily basis to let the people know how many beds and other facilities are ready to be used."
At present, she said, 64 coronavirus patients across Punjab were on ventilators in a serious condition while 239 more ventilators were available in public sector hospitals. In 53 private hospitals, there were 381 ventilators, out of which 23 were occupied by the patients, she added.
Dr Rashid said that the virus was continuously evolving, and no one in the world could claim to be an expert on how to combat it thus far. However, the government was well prepared to tackle this challenge. The people must follow guidelines.
"It's your life, and you're responsible for it. We can reduce the infection rate by 30 percent to 40 percent if we cover our faces with masks and follow other SoPs as well," she added.
Meanwhile, DG Rescue Punjab Dr Rizwan Naseer on Saturday chaired the District Emergency Officers (DEOs) conference which reviewed the corona emergency management strategy during smart lockdown, morbidity and mortality analysis and performance of the districts.
The efficient use of PPE kits, timely and professional emergency response to corona emergencies, proper disinfection of staff, vehicles and equipment and burial protocols, smart utilization of store items through newly developed rescue inventory management software, the fitness of the staff and flood preparedness were also discussed in detail at the conference.
The head of safety wing demonstrated the method of decontamination and disinfection of reusable corona safety kits and also shared updated guidelines with officers to deal with the corona emergencies.
DG Rescue Punjab emphasized on uniform standards of the service and smooth service delivery without any discrimination.
He also emphasized proper use of PPEs, disinfecting of reusable coveralls and shoes, fit testing of face masks. He appreciated the all district staff over shifting of 10,000 corona patients and 605 suspected corona burials across Punjab.