LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Tuesday said that the government had reached to the capacity of conducting 3,100 tests daily whereas it would soon be increased to 5,000 tests per day
He was presiding over a meeting of the cabinet committee for eradication of coronavirus at his office here in Lahore.
The meeting held a detailed review of the prevailing situation and different facilities arranged for patients in the province and was attended by provincial Ministers Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Chief Secretary, IG Police, secretaries of health, information, finance, and agriculture departments as well as military officials, while Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht and a few other participated through a video link.
“As many as 1,785 people were tested on Monday. There were around 19,000 diagnostic kits available in Punjab and 2,000 more would be received from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday,” Buzdar added.
The CM said that testing labs were being established in Lahore and other districts of the province, eight of which would be made functional at the earliest.
He directed the authorities concerned to implement Section 144 strictly as the steps had been taken to protect the lives of citizens and ordered for taking action against those violating the pillion riding ban.
He asked the Health Department to early complete the procurement of necessary equipment, adding that patients in quarantine facilities or isolation wards would be tested again after 14 days and those found negative would be allowed to go to their homes.
The CM ordered for establishing separate wards for coronavirus affected pregnant women in Lahore and other districts hospitals.
“Patients should be provided with every necessary facility in quarantine centres, he said. Personal Protection Equipment should also be provided to doctors and nurses on priority and their other issues will be resolved by the government,” he promised.
