Govt's focus on stepping up Covid-19 testing: Moeed Yusuf

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning Dr Moeed Yusuf said on Sunday the government’s focus is on ramping up the country’s capacity to conduct Covid-19 tests.

Speaking at a daily coronavirus press conference, he said the government initially tried to stop the virus from transmitting into the country but now concentrated all its efforts on arresting its spread in the country.

After having enhanced its testing capacity, the SAPM said, the government would track and test the people who are asymptomatic but may have come into contact with a coronavirus patient to identify the areas affected by the virus, which would help the government to move towards a “smart lockdown” to stem the virus.

Moeed Yusuf said there are 7,993 cases of Covid-19 in the country, including 514 new cases reported over the past 24 hours. He added 7,847 tests were conducted in the country during this period.

16 people died from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of people who have fallen victim to the disease to 159, he said, adding Pakistan Covid-19 death rate is 1.9 as against 6.9 globally.

Govt's focus on stepping up Covid-19 testing to identify affected areas: Moeed Yusuf