Peshawar             -          People used to avoid visiting hospitals for treatment of various diseases during coronavirus lockdown due to fears of either contracting the infection or “forcibly getting included in the list of corona patients.” However, health experts say the numbers of visitors are likely to shoot up with the lifting of lockdown in the country. 

The government lifted lockdown from tourism activities from August 8 while schools are expected to reopen on September 15. Similarly, the private schools have protested the prolonged lockdown and announced to reopen their schools by August 15.  

Talking to The Nation, Secretary Health KP Dr Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah said that amid lockdown, the numbers of visitors at the hospitals had decreased. He said elective surgeries were also stopped because of the fear of corona spread. 

“Not only services at hospitals were reduced, but even most doctors shut their private clinics in the lockdown because they knew the gravity of the situation with regard to the contagion,” he added. However, he said now the numbers of visitors at hospitals were likely to increase with the lifting of lockdown.

He said the hospitals were autonomous in their decisions, but the Health Department had asked them to reopen OPDs while observing anti-corona SOPs. 

“In fact, the OPDs of hospitals in periphery areas are already working. I visited Dogra Hospital in Khyber district where the OPD was found functioning properly. However, the MTIs have a huge influx of visitors, this is why they are also mulling OPDs’ resumption with proper SOPs,” he added. 

To a query regarding observance of the SOPs, he said that SOPs must be observed until and unless there was a single patient of coronavirus. 

“Also, the SOPs are the measures which even Islamic teachings tell us to do, such as hand washing, observing other hygiene practices, etc,” he added.

Dr Khalid Masood, Director of Lady Reading Hospital, told The Nation that the numbers of visitors at the LRH had definitely dropped during lockdown. However, it was likely to increase now. 

He said LRH would reopen its OPD next week, with proper SOPs including one patient, on attendant policy and entry of only 5 patients to the hospital premises at a time. 

He said that situation had improved as there were only 7 Covid-19 patients at LRH currently.

He, however, feared more cases to emerge if care was not taken on the Ashura Day. “Though the lockdown has been lifted, we must be careful and observe the SOPs for at least three to six months,” he added.