COVID-19: Pakistan possesses testing kits for 75 days, official says

Islamabad: Pakistan has enough medical equipment to conduct COVID-19 medical tests for 75 days, Lieutenant General Mohammad Afzal, Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said yesterday.

“Currently up to 4,000 tests are conducted per day in the country, and that number can be increased and is up to the provincial governments to decide. Pakistan has the capability to conduct up to 40,000 tests a day,” he told the media after receiving 22 tonnes of medical equipment and goods from Chengdu, China, at Islamabad International Airport.

Lt Gen Afzal, who along with Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, was at the press conference, dismissed reports that the current number of tests conducted were too little.

He said there was no shortage of testing kits and machines required to combat the spread of COVID-19. The medical equipment imported from China would be provided to all the provinces, he said adding, “NDMA has started supplying the medical equipment to the provinces with the assistance of Pakistan Army.”

Doctors, paramedics assured

He assured the medical workers on the frontline of the country’s fight against the coronavirus that they will get adequate support. “We assure our doctors and medical staff that they will not be left alone in this fight.”

To further improve the capacity of testing laboratories every hospital will establish 2-3 bio-labs. Most hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have received medical equipment, while hospitals in Punjab would receive protective equipment tomorrow, he said. “A consignment of medical goods has been prepared for Sindh and would be provided soon.”

The medical goods imported from China comprises of 59 ventilators and 936 kilograms of surgical masks. It also had protective gowns along with 1,720kg of raw materials to prepare masks and gowns. There were also gloves, ready-made protective suits, thermometers and safety glasses.

Worshippers clash with police

Meanwhile in Karachi, a crowd of worshippers attacked police enforcing lockdown rules outside a mosque when they tried to stop them from offering a congregational prayer, said city police chief Gulam Nabi Memon.

Authorities had warned of tough penalties for people who go to mosques for Friday prayers. The lockdown rules allow only five people to pray at a time in a mosque, but many mosques reported larger gatherings last week.

The official tally of coronavirus cases climbed to 4,601 cases with 66 deaths.