Special assistant to Health Prime Minister Dr. Zafar Mirza on Saturday said that Pakistan is carrying out diagnostic tests free of charge for the novel coronavirus.
“Throughout the country, diagnostic tests of the coronavirus are being carried out free,” he said, pointing out that eight government laboratories had been provided coronavirus kits.
Dr Mirza said that the kits were provided to the labs free of cost and no fees was charged for conducting coronavirus tests. “Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world that has the capability to produce its own coronavirus kits,” he said.
The prime minister’s special assistant said that 25 hospitals across the country had been designated to treat patients suffering from the virus.
His statement comes shortly after Pakistan reported two new cases of the infection, taking the tally of infected persons throughout the country to 30. A woman in Islamabad, who had recently arrived from the US, was diagnosed with the virus. The second case of the virus has emerged in Karachi, taking the tally of infected persons to 16 in the province.
