Patient Refused By Hospitals Dies
A critical COVID-19 patient succumbed to the virus in an ambulance after being turned away from two different hospitals. The patient, Zaheer Asghar, suffered from multiple diseases in addition to COVID-19, including kidney diseases, blood pressure problems, and diabetes. Asghar was initially brought to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Lahore from Ittefaq Hospital for dialysis. The DHQ could not afford to use their limited dialysis machines on a COVID-19 patient and instead referred him to the Lahore General Hospital (LGH).
However, for yet unknown reasons, Asghar has turned away from LGH as well and was referred instead to the Lahore Expo Center field hospital. However, the crucial patient breathed his last in a Rescue 1122 ambulance before he could reach the facility.
Cases Expected To Increase By 15-20%
The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimated a surge in virus cases across the country by 15-20% in the following week as people ignore social distancing and other precautions due to lockdown relaxations. According to officials, the health sector cannot manage more than a 20% rise in infections. Meanwhile, the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) provided that a total of 15,346 tests were carried out on Thursday, May 21.
Teachers Do Not Want Schools Reopened
The Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) implored the government to refrain from reopening primary and middle schools as public schools are currently ill-equipped to ensure implementation of SOPs among grade-schoolers. Government schools lack the funds to supply masks and sanitizers to students, as well as cool drinking water as the mercury continues to rise. Furthermore, teachers cannot ensure social distancing among nearly a million grade-school students enrolled in different public schools at all times to prevent virus transmissions.
