Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday gave the go-ahead to the purchase of six rapid testing machines and 300,000 testing kits in order to enhance the province’s capacity of conducting coronavirus tests.
The approval came at a meeting presided over by the chief minister to review anti-COVID-19 measures.
Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho and other top health officials were present during the meeting.
The chief minister was informed that the provincial government has about 7,500 testing kits at present, which are sufficient to last through the coming seven days. He was further informed that testing capacity for a day has been enhanced to 2020.
Murad Ali Shah said at least 5,000 tests be conducted in a day.
Health officials told the CM that the daily testing capacity could go up further after the purchase of new PCR machines. Moreover, 200,000 testing kits will be purchased from a British company while another 100,000 kits and PCR machines from a Canadian firm.
Meanwhile, Spokesman of the Sindh government Murtaza Wahab on Saturday announced that 12 more people have recovered from the virus, bringing the provincial tally of recovered patients to 86, a private news channel reported.
In a message posted on his micro-blogging site-Twitter- Murtaza Wahab said that another 12 patients have recovered as their coronavirus test has come negative. “Now the total number of recovered patients in Sindh stand at 86.”
Murtaza Wahab said that all patients have recovered from the virus after going into isolation.
“People should learn that isolation or social distancing is the only cure to #COVID?19.”
The spokesman has also announced earlier in the day that nine more patients of the coronavirus have tested negative and recovered their health in the province.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said on Saturday that the number of confirmed coronavirus patients have reached to 830 in the province.
Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said about 7,992 tests had been performed in Sindh so far out of 830 were tested positive, while 14 have lost their lives till date.
Separately, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that they have not received any coronavirus case from slum areas in the province. Talking to a delegation of industrialists, the chief minister said all cases have been reported mainly from those who had come back from abroad.
“It will be very difficult to control the virus if it spreads in the slum areas,” he said adding that it was due to the fear of an outbreak that they have taken strict measures to tackle the deadly infection. He said that their top priority was to lower the damage from the virus as it could only be eliminated if a vaccine was developed internationally to deal with it. He lauded the religious leaders for extending complete cooperation towards the government in implementing measures to cope up with the situation.
“None of the members of Tableeghi Jamaat who contracted coronavirus had come from abroad,” he said. The chief minister said that even a person was afraid to attend funeral of his brother, showing how the virus has caused widespread fear in the society.
He said that the government was already facing shortfall in the revenues and they had a target to receive around Rs 70 billion during the ongoing month of the fiscal year.
“We have received Rs 33 billion during the month,” the chief minister said adding that the province had a salary expense of at least 45 billion.
He said that they were taking decisions after taking all stakeholders into confidence as economy had badly affected from the virus.
