ISLAMABAD                   -                Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday broke ground for the construction of a 252-bed Isolation Hospital and Infectious Disease Center here as the tally of coronavirus cases reached 25 in the federal capital.

Accompanied by Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal, Director General Frontier Works Organization Major General Kamal Azfar, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ahmed Ali and Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Yao Jing, the Prime Minister also inspected a 50-bed quarantine facility, set up at Pak-China Friendship Center.

The isolation hospital would be constructed by the Frontier Works Organization near National Institute of Health over 40-kanal land, using the pre-fabricated light gauge steel structure. The hospital is expected to be completed by 10th of May this year.

The Chinese government would fund the construction of the facility that had extended the assistance of around $4 million. The project consists of seven patients’ blocks – four male and three female – a laboratory and diagnostics block and another for accommodation of doctors and paramedics.

It would be developed as fully air-tight facility with all doors to be operated through sensors to avoid any human contact. Two localities of Bhara Kahu and Shahzad Town of Islamabad had been sealed where multiple numbers of Covid-19 patients had been detected.

The city administration had already started a disinfection operation of Islamabad, starting from PIMS hospital, then Bara Kahu, Fruit and Vegetable Market and other areas.

The NDMA chairman also apprised the Prime Minister about the logistics arrangements being made to cope with the growing needs of the medical equipment across the country including the ventilators, PCR equipment, masks and others.

As of today, a total of 1102 patients had been tested positive of Covid-19 disease including 417 in Sindh, Punjab 323, Balochistan 131, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 121, Gilgit Baltistan 84, Islamabad 25 and one in Azad Kahsmir. A total of 21 patients had recovered from the disease across the country and eight people died.