Chairman Task Force Asks Govt To Increase Corona Virus Testing Capacity To 100,000 Per Day

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2020 ) :Prof Dr.�Atta-ur-Rahman,�Chairman�of Pakistan�Science and Technology Task Force has asked the incumbent government to increase the Corona virus testing capacity to 100,000 per day.

Talking to a private news channel, he said some nine mutation were being observed in the virus that had entered into this region from outside, and infected a large number of people.

In Pakistan, he said intensity of the Corona virus was not as much higher as in the European countries. The fatality rate in this country is much less than the ratio being reported in America, Italy, Spain and France, he added.

The Chairman said a laboratory would be operational soon in Karachi university for testing virus. Dr Ata ur Rehman said the scientists and experts from Germany and China, were supporting the project of lab for identifying different virus.

About the families of virus, he said, we simply called it a third family virus appeared before the world namely COVID-19. He further stated that in the recent history, there was a middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

To a question, he said the testing capacity in Indus hospital Karachi had been increased to 2500 per day from 800, after provision of Poly Chain Reaction (PCR), machines. He said, we must be able to enhance the ratio of testing the people so that virus-affected persons could be identified and isolated from healthy persons.

Meanwhile, Dr Javed Akram of Vice Chancellor University of Health Sciences (UHS), said that government should take decision for extending the period of lock down. He said that social distancing, and other pre-cautionary measures as given by the health departments would be beneficial for citizens.

To a question about effectiveness of chloroquine being used for malaria, he said it was pre-mature to make final decision about the medicine.

However, he said that indigenously, we have started manufacturing the medicine to mild threat of the virus.

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