As COVID-19 cases continue to pile up in Pakistan’s major cities, hospitals in Islamabad, the country's capital, are struggling as they are on the verge of saturation, reported Dawn. 

On Wednesday, 628 people have been tested positive for the virus in the city, and almost 5000 nationwide cases were recorded. The country reported 98 deaths on the same day.

The situation is worsening with each passing day. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS), one of the country’s best hospitals in the capital, has no more capacity to even admit emergency patients. 

Patients are being referred to other hospitals as no beds are vacant there. 

Polyclinic, another big hospital in the capital, also exhausted its capacity and no more ventilators are vacant there. Also, there is no scope of further increasing its bed capacity as already 7000 people visit it daily now. 

Furthermore, around 200 staff of Polyclinic have contracted the virus so far, said Dr. Abdul Jabbar Bhutto, the media coordinator of the hospital.

Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) said that they are closely monitoring the situation in the capital. “Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan has already visited hospitals of the federal capital to check the load of patients,” Sajid Shah, the spokesperson of the ministry, was quoted as saying by Dawn. 
 
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday also held the meeting of the National Coordination Committee and took the stock of the COVID-19 situation. He, however, ruled the possibility of imposing another general lockdown.