BAHAWALPUR: The administration of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital-II (BVH-II), which was dedicated to treatment of the Covid-19 patients, is not reopening anytime soon for treatment of the general public due to the pandemic threat.

There is a demand in the area to restore the normal functioning of the hospital and treatment of all sorts of patients. After the constant decline in the number of the Covid-19 patients, the general public, as well as non-government organisations, are demanding restoration of the health care services for the indoor as well as outdoor patients of the hospital, which was formerly known as the Government Civil Hospital, Jhangiwali Road.

The demand was made in the wake of increasing pressure of patients on the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) not only from the city but also from the surrounding areas of the district, including Ahmedpur East, Yazman, Hasilpur and Lodhran.

The Punjab health department had announced closure of the BVH-2 in March this year after the outbreak of the Covid-19 and it was dedicated exclusively for treatment of the coronavirus patients for the whole of south Punjab.

Talking toDawn, BVH-II Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Rana Muhammad Yousaf said the heads of all the departments of the hospital held a meeting on Saturday and discussed restoration of the normal functioning of the hospital. He said though the Covid-19 cases had declined, the threat still existed due to the upcoming Muharram.

Mr Yousuf confirmed that there were still three confirmed cases, including two Chinese nationals, and nine suspected cases of the coronavirus in the hospital and more might come next week. Besides, he added, the government had warned of the second wave of the Covid-19.

In these prevailing circumstances, he declared, the hospital administration could not take the decision to open the hospital for the regular treatment of all sorts of patients.

The MS added that the meeting decided to finalise its recommendations, which would be passed through the chief executive officer (CEO) i.e. the principal Quaid-i-Azam Medical College (QAMC) to the divisional commissioner to be sent to the Punjab secretary for primary health for taking a final decision in this respect.

Meanwhile, BVH-I MS Dr Azizur Rehman said with the decline in the Covid cases in the area, the coronavirus isolation ward at his hospital had been closed own and in the future, all such cases would be referred to the BVH-II.

ROBBERY: Eight robbers shot dead a man for offering resistance and tortured the family members before taking away cash and jewellery from the house of from Chak 115/DNB in the limits of Derwar Police Station in Cholistan area.

According to the case registered on complaint of one Ghulam Farid, eight armed robbers broke into the house of his relative Dilshad at night. They tortured the women and took away Rs1.4m cash meant for buying a tractor and over 22 tola gold jewellery worth Rs2.4m from the house. When one of the family members, Allah Rakha, offered resistance, the robbers shot him dead.

ACCIDENT: Seven people, including two women and children, were injured in a road accident near Uch Sharif interchange.

According to the 1122, a family was on the way to Lahore from Karachi in a car. When it reached the Uch Sharif interchange of M-5, a tyre burst and the car overturned. As a result, seven members of the family were injured while four members of the family received critical injuries. They included Harram (5) Faisal (40) Anum (30) and Abdul Rafah (6). They were shifted to the BVH.

RALLY: The Jamaat-i-Islami organised a walk in support of Palestine and to lodge a protest against the UAE for its decision to recognise Israel to have diplomatic relations with it.

The rally, led by JI South Punjab Naib Amir Zeeshan Akhtar, was taken out from JI district office near the GPO and culminated in front of the press club.

ARREST: The Abbasnagar police claimed to have arrested a motorcycle thief who had escaped from police custody. The thief, Husain, was arrested on the charge of motorcycle theft.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020