First drive-thru coronavirus testing facility inaugurated in Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh government on Tuesday inaugurated first drive-through coronavirus testing facility in the provincial capital Karachi, ARY NEWS reported.

The drive-through testing facility has been established in Jahangir Kothari Parade area of Clifton.

Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has inaugurated the facility in district South during his visit alongside secretary local bodies and deputy commissioner South.

Briefing regarding the project, the minister said that any person could undergo test at the facility while remaining seated inside his vehicle.

“People willing to undergo tests should contact helpline of DC South for taking an appointment, from where they will be provided with timings for the test and a code,” he said while divulging the procedure.

Nasir Shah said that the procedure would save both the suspected patient and medics from coming into contact with the coronavirus. “We have also installed special x-ray machines at the facility,” he said.

The minister tested negative for the virus after he underwent the test at the facility.

It is pertinent to mention here that at least eight people have died after contracting coronavirus in Sindh province while over 600 have been infected from it.

Confirming the second death of the day on Tuesday, Provincial Health Minister Azra Fazl Pechuhu said that a 74-year-old patient hailing from Karachi lost his life after he suffered from the virus, bringing provincial tally to eight.

“The patient had a history of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Diabetes. ,” she said adding that he was admitted at the hospital on March 26.

The minister also said that overall 128 people have tested positive for the virus in Hyderabad of which 116 were members of Tableegi Jamaat, staying at a mosque in the city.

The virus-infected people have been shifted to a quarantine centre in Liaquat Medical and Health Sciences Hospital, she said.

Moreover, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said that there are 627 coronavirus patients in the province including 272 pilgrims that constitutes 43 percent of the total cases.

“62 other cases have been reported in those who came from abroad,” he said adding that the province witnessed 47 percent cases that is 293 cases of local transmission.