New lab in Karachi to offer Covid-19 tests at subsidized rates

A first-of-its-kind three-layered safety lab, specifically designed for Covid-19 testing, has been set up in Karachi in line with efforts to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control and further increase testing capacity.

Dr Naila Tariq, the head of the Pathology department at the JPMC, is the driving force behind the new private facility Reliance Labs, which will offer testing at subsidized rates.

While private hospitals charge between eight to ten thousand rupees for a PCR diagnostic test for the coronavirus, the same will be offered at the newly-established Reliance Labs for Rs4,000, she said.

“We want to provide comprehensive healthcare at affordable rates to the segment of the population with limited means,” said Dr Tariq, adding: "From consultation clinics to a molecular lab with Covid-19 testing, we have it all under one roof."

In all, the facility offers nine kinds of tests with specialised staff for internal medicine, homeo-medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, biochemistry, microbiology and paediatrics.

Sindh Health Department Secretary Kazim Hussain Jatoi, the chief guest, said the lab would prove to be an asset for Karachi. “Building a three-layered safety lab is not an ordinary task," he said.

The newly inaugurated building will house pathologists, lab scientists and support staff with different speciality departments in the two-storey building.