Balochistan's COVID-19 testing capacity increased to 1,200 tests per day: Shahwani

QUETTA: Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said on Thursday more than 1,200 COVID-19 tests are being conducted in the province on a daily basis.

Speaking to the media, he said only 80 tests per day were being conducted in the province earlier but now the testing capacity has increased to 1,200 as more laboratories have been established in the province.

Shahwani said the provincial government is trying to further ramp up the province’s testing capacity.

He said the Balochistan government had imposed a lockdown on March 17 when 92 cases were confirmed, adding cases started to increase after relaxation in the lockdown.

The spokesperson said the government is doing all it can to enforce the standard operation procedures (SOPs). More than 1,200 shops had been sealed for violating the government-defined SOPs while many individuals were also fined over breach of the SOPs.

He said there is no shortage of ventilators in the province as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has provided the same. He said 98 per cent of the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province are locally transmitted.