Key points:
- The Punjab health department issued an urgent notice on 7 October urging all provincial hospitals to brace for a possible rise in COVID‑19 and seasonal influenza cases.
- The alert, addressed to chief executive officers and medical directors, stresses the need for reinforced infection‑control measures, expanded testing and close coordination with district health units.
- Patients are encouraged to seek early care for fever, cough or breathlessness and to follow preventive steps such as vaccination, mask‑wearing and hand hygiene.
The provincial health ministry sent the circular to more than 150 public‑sector hospitals across Punjab, warning that outpatient departments and other wards could see a surge in admissions as the region confronts the overlap of the COVID‑19 pandemic’s latest wave with the annual flu season. Health officials highlighted that the province’s dense urban centres—Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi—are especially vulnerable, given their high patient footfall and limited ICU capacity.
In response, hospital administrators have been instructed to review staffing rosters, ensure adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and rapid‑diagnostic kits, and to activate contingency plans for isolating suspected COVID‑19 patients. District health offices are also being asked to monitor community transmission trends closely and to support hospitals with additional testing resources when needed.
Public health experts note that vaccination coverage for both COVID‑19 boosters and seasonal flu remains below target levels in Punjab, raising the risk of co‑infection and severe outcomes among high‑risk groups such as the elderly, diabetics and pregnant women. The health department therefore urges residents to get vaccinated promptly, adhere to mask mandates in crowded settings and practice regular hand hygiene to curb the anticipated spike and protect the already strained health infrastructure.