As part of its efforts to contain the surging dengue virus cases in the province, the Punjab government has launched an anti-dengue helpline for the citizens.
Taking to Twitter, a spokesman for the Punjab government, Hassan Khawar, penned that citizens can inform the authorities regarding the dengue virus situation in their areas by calling at 0800-99000.
1/@GovtofPunjabPK is using all necessary resources to deal with dengue
A dengue helpline has been set up 0800 99000
Dengue tests being conducted free of cost in government hospitals. Private labs Rs90
400,000+ indoor & outdoors spots checked daily. Larvae destroyed if found
— Hasaan Khawar (@hasaankhawar) October 13, 2021
The spokesman also clarified that government hospitals in the province are conducting diagnostic tests for the virus without any fee while private hospitals and laboratories are authorized to charge Rs. 90 for each test.
All District Health Authorities (DHAs) in Punjab are checking more than 400,000 indoor and outdoor spots every day to search and destroy dengue larvae.
The spokesman also advised against politicizing the issue of rising cases of Dengue virus in the province as it could deter potential patients from going to hospitals for diagnosis and seeking subsequent medical intervention.
Terming the reports of dengue patients getting rejected due to lack of beds in hospitals as ‘baseless’ and ‘unfounded’. He revealed that more than 1200 beds have already been allocated for patients in government hospitals in Lahore, adding that this number will be beefed up once the available beds fill up.
In case of the non-availability of beds in a particular hospital, patients will be referred to other hospitals with available beds.
The spokesman also said that earlier this week, the Punjab government also inaugurated a 280-bed Dengue Field Hospital at Expo Centre in Lahore to deal with the increasing number of patients.
