KARACHI: Sindh has been facing scarcity of ventilators for coronavirus patients across the province amid COVID-19 crisis.

A ventilator facilitates breathing in case of respiratory failure to a patient badly affected by a disease. Ventilators are in high demand viewing the rising number of countrywide coronavirus cases. They are used to facilitate a patient in serious condition who faces difficulty in breathing.

More than one million people have been infected with coronavirus around the globe and 55,000 others have lost their lives. Death toll has hit 40 in Pakistan and more than 2,500 people are under treatment at different hospitals.

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Total population of Sindh is more than 48 million and according to a document the total number of ventilators available at public hospitals across the province was 179, which makes one ventilator per 0.3 million people. One ventilator costs around 0.7 to 1 million rupees, while the total annual budget of the provincial health department is Rs120 billion.

The document also reveals that 16 out of 29 districts of Sindh had no ventilator, which include four districts of provincial capital, Karachi.

The report reveals that there are 24 ventilators for population of 1.7 million in district South and nine ventilators for population of 2 million in Malir, while there is no ventilator available for rest of the population which is around 12.3 million people.

Media Consultant of Sindh Health Minister Meeran Yousaf said the government had ordered for 300 ventilators viewing the current situation.