Virus testing lab opens in Abbottabad

K-P plans labs in each division to enhance its testing capacity

ABBOTTABAD: With the province nearing the 1,000 novel coronavirus (Covid-19) tests per day mark, a testing lab was inaugurated in Abbottabad on Wednesday with the provincial government vowing to open a testing laboratory in each divisional headquarter of the province.

This was stated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan as he inaugurated a diagnostic laboratory at the Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) on Wednesday to test nasal swab samples extracted from suspected Covid-19 patients.

CM Mahmood was informed that the laboratory had been set up within a week and that it had already commenced tests on samples from suspected patients from across the Hazara division.

Mahmood remarked the provincial government has increased its daily testing capacity from 40 to 1,000 tests per day, adding that they aim to conduct 5,000 tests per day.

“The provincial government is making all-out efforts to ensure the safety of the public against the pandemic,” he maintained.

Earlier, ATH Medical Director Dr Ahsan Aurangzeb briefed Mahmood about the treatment of Covid-19 patients at the facility. He said that a separate block has been reserved for these patients and it includes an intensive care unit (ICU), an isolation ward.

He added that they were trying to enhance their capacity to 200 tests per day.

Later chief minister also chaired a meeting of the divisional administration to take stock of arrangements made to deal with the pandemic. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2020.