NDMA to establish more labs for COVID-19 testing as tally cross 2,000

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal informed Prime Minister Imran Khan that currently there are 20 fully functional coronavirus labs and 12 more will be established soon.

earlier Chairman NDMA addressed a press conference in Islamabad, saying that that Sindh government given 20,000 testing kits, Balochistan 7,000 while Punjab 5,000 kits.

He said that seven machines in cooperation with National Institute of Health have provided to various laboratories across the country.

The chairman maintained that laboratories in Sargodha under upgration.

He added that COVID-19 testing facilities will soon be available in Gujrat and Bahawalpur.

On the occasion, General Afzal said that provision of necessary equipment to medical teams was their top priority.

He said that they have transported five weeks’ ration to Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

He said that four to five flights will go to China in a few days to pick up ventilators, personal protection equipment and other essential medical supplies.

However, it included ventilators and infrared walkthrough gates, which landed in the country on Tuesday.

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients has crossed 2,000 with 676 cases in Sindh, 708 in Punjab, 158 in Balochistan, 253 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 184 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 58 in Islamabad and six in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The virus has so far claimed 26 lives in Pakistan, while over 65 COVID-19 patients have fully recovered.