Govt increasing testing capacity in Punjab: minister

LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid inaugurated bio-safety level-3 laboratory at the Institute of Public Health (IPH) here on Wednesday.

World Health Organisation Country chief Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Maqbool, Dean IPH Dr Zarfishan Tahir, Professor Suhail Chughtai and Members Board of Management were present on the occasion. The minister took a round of the laboratory and Dean IPH Dr Zarfishan Tahir briefed the minister about the facilities.

The health minister said, “I greatly appreciate the IPH team, especially Dr Zarfishan Tahir for putting up great efforts and making the lab functional. The government is trying to scale up the testing capabilities and all institutions must play their role. The IPH is in the frontline in this battle. According to guidelines of the WHO, we are increasing testing capacity in Punjab. In the current month, many BSL-3 laboratories have been made functional in districts.”

The minister added, “In Punjab the highest number of COVID-19 patients is in Lahore. Our quarantine centres can house 28,000 patients. As soon as the pandemic reached here, we immediately opened corona centres at Expo Center, PKLI and Mayo Hospital. Ganga Ram has been reserved for pregnant mothers suffering from corona. The facilities in the hospitals have been enhanced to deal with the pandemic. Lockdown was enforced to stop the transmission of the virus. People are requested to stay at homes and restrict movement. Timely steps helped us control the disease which is why we have less mortality rate. Over 90pc of patients losing their lives are in the above 50 age group. We also are grateful to the WHO for their support.”

The minister said the government is taking steps to support the daily wage earners and labourers. She also said that smart sampling is being initiated in Punjab which will help assess the prevalence and its stage and scale. She hoped Pakistan will soon be able to control the spread of the disease. The minister also paid rich tribute to healthcare staff working for Corona patients. Dean IH Dr Zarfishan Tahir expressed gratitude to the minister for her support and said that the lab was made functional within just 10 days and it has a capacity to perform 200 tests per day currently which can be scaled up to 1000. Former Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Maqbool said salutes Dr Yasmin Rashid for working with such dedication on frontline on corona pandemic. He assured that the IPH team will continue to work for enhancing the testing capacity of the lab.

Meanwhile, Dr Yasmin Rashid received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health professionals from the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) at the Fatima Jinnah Medical University. WHO Country Chief Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, Vice Chancellor FJWU Professor Amir Zaman Khan and Shoaib Ahmed Shahzad were present on occasion. The minister expressed gratitude to the UNFPA for their support. The minister also held a detailed meeting with WHO Country Chief Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala and Vice Chancellor FJWU Professor Amir Zaman Khan. The Vice Chancellor provided an update on the facilities at Ganga Ram and added that deliveries of four COVID-19 positive mothers were made possible at the special ward and all four children have tested negative. He said six Covid-19 positive mothers have returned homes after recoveries and currently seven positive women are in the Isolation Wards.