Karachi           -       Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar on Monday inaugurated COVID-19 Infectious Diseases and Research Centre established at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital having capacity of treating 120 patients at a time.

A 120-bed centre has facilities of isolation ward, HDUs, ICUs and a team of well-reputed doctors, professors and experts. Free-of-cost coronavirus testing facility is also being provided at the hospital. Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Syed Saifur Rehman, Senior Director Medical and Health Services Dr Beerbal Gainani, Medical Superintendent Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Nadeem Rajput and other officials were also present on the occasion.

Talking to media after the inauguration, Akhtar said that the centre would carry out research on all infectious diseases as well as treating the patients. He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation did all these works on its own and assistance by National Disaster Management Authority and philanthropists.

Akhtar said that they would further upgrade the centre and appealed to the philanthropists to cooperate with KMC so that the desired results could be achieved soon and the people get treatment of infectious diseases including coronavirus. He said that Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had assured full support from his government for the Covid-19 Infectious Diseases and Research Centre.

He once again asked federal and provincial governments and philanthropists to support the KMC for early completion of the centre. The Mayor hailed doctors and other health workers who made this centre functional while fighting from the front. He said that Karachiites were aware of the facts and knew that the Covid-19 could only be controlled by adopting precautionary measures and standard operating procedures (SOPs). He thanked Allah the Almighty as the graph of coronavirus infected people and its death is declining.

Replying a question, Akhtar said that Sindh government didn’t take him on board while forming mechanism for the cattle markets. He said that two months salaries of doctors were approved and the same will be deposited in their respective accounts on Tuesday. “We are doing all what we can. It is Sindh government that issues salaries we just forward it,” said the Mayor.

He was of the view that the provincial government should have cooperated with the KMC in completion of the centre at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital which is the third biggest hospital of Karachi and cater the poor patients. “A modern laboratory has also been established at the hospital which has a capacity conducting 65 tests a day.

The KMC has leading doctors and experts and I hope that they would serve the patients with courage,” he added.