500 tests per day threshold crossed in K-P

Two patients recover in Lakki Marwat

PESHAWAR: As part of the government’s efforts to combat the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Tuesday said that testing capacity for the virus in the province has exceeded the 500 tests per day threshold.

In a statement on microblogging network Twitter, the health minister said that the Public Health Reference Laboratory (PHRL) at the Khyber Medical University (KMU) has conducted 358 tests in a day.

He added that they are working to expand the health department’s capacity to over 2,000 tests per day as soon as possible.

Two coronavirus patients recover

The Lakki Marwat District Focal Person for Covid-19 Dr Hidayatullah on Tuesday said that two of the four patients of the virus in the district have fully recovered.

Both patients were under treatment at the district headquarters hospital (DHQ).

Dr Hidayatullah further said the reaming two patients are also improving steadily and hopefully, they will be discharged as soon as they test negative for the virus.

Meanwhile, another patient at the quarantine centre in the Gomal Medical College has tested positive. The patient is a resident of Mujahid Nagar in Dera Ismail Khan and was working at the district courts in Tank.

KTH issues Covid-19 report

The Khyber Teaching Hospital KTH on Tuesday issued a Covid-19 report which suggested that the first suspected patient of the virus may have surfaced days before the first case of the country was reported.

The report said that the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) received its first Covid-19 suspected patient on February 22. The hospital has so far screened and sampled a total of 102 patients of which 14 had positive and the remaining tested negative. At least 49 patients were admitted in the hospital and successfully treated. Only one patient has expired. The remaining 53 patients were treated as outdoor patients. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2020.