ISLAMABAD - Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday stressed devising a mechanism of providing latest information about the availability of beds and ventilators in country’s hospitals to facilitate COVID-19 patients. On the other hand, with new the emergence of 2,076 new infections over the last twenty-four hours, the nationwide coronavirus cases reached 61,227 on Thursday. At least 22,037 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 24206 in Sindh, 8483 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3616 in Balochistan, 2015 in Islamabad, 651 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 219 in Azad Kashmir.

Some, 20,231 patients have so far recovered from the virus while the death toll stands at 1260 with 36 deaths reported during the last twenty-four hours. While chairing a meeting at National Command and Control Centre (NCOC), he said that such information would facilitate the infected to get admission in hospitals as per their own preference and the availability of beds and ventilators.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Interior Brig (r) Ejaz Shah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza, Prime Minister’s focal person on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan, and Chief Coordinator NCOC Lt Gen Hamud Uz Zaman Khan. The NCOC was apprised that sufficient beds and ventilators were available in country’s hospitals for accommodating COVID-19 patients and most of the infected preferred home isolation. The forum also reviewed the progress on the implementation status of COVID-19 guidelines.