Lahore's Expo Centre field hospital temporarily closed after all COVID-19 patients discharged

The Punjab Health Department has announced that all the patients receiving treatment for coronavirus at Lahore's Expo Centre Field hospital have been discharged and all three halls of the medical facility are temporarily closed, Geo News reported on Sunday.

The Punjab government had introduced a 990-bed isolation facility — with 10-bed High Dependency Unit — at the Lahore Expo Centre, while 110 doctors and paramedical staff were appointed at the medical centre to nurse virus-affected patients.

The Punjab health department said that all COVID-19 patients under treatment at the Expo Centre Field Hospital were discharged after fully recovering from the disease.

Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said that if the government facility is permanently closed after Moharram, the medical equipment and other resources would be sold to other hospitals.

Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group Vice-chairman Dr Asad Aslam said that the capital city of Punjab has seen an eminent decline in the reported cases for coronavirus. He further said that out of 3,000 beds allocated for coronavirus patients, about 2,700 beds are empty across the city.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Nabeel Awan noted that after Eid-ul-Azha, there might be another spike in coronavirus cases. "If there are no cases reported for the virus in the coming days, then the medical facility would be permanently closed by August," he added.

He also said that the utility bills for the field hospital amount to Rs20 million. However, at the time of the custody of the medical facility, it was decided that rent for the hospital would not be charged.