Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the State intends to launch a rapid testing drive to screen one million people.
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“Gearing up for this, the Cabinet has approved acquisition of 10 lakh Rapid Testing Kits (RTK) and placed an order for one lakh kits from the ICMR. Besides, the testing capacity of the Viral Research Diagnostic Labs (VRDL) in the Government Medical Colleges in Patiala and Amritsar has been increased,” he said.
Mr. Sidhu was speaking during a video conference of the Health Ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry about sharing the best practices adopted in their States to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Mr. Sidhu said modalities are being worked out for manufacturing the personal protective equipment (PPE) kits in Ludhiana, which once operational would not only enable Punjab to meet its own requirement but also to supply to other States.
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The death tally due to the COVID-19 pandemic touched 10 in Punjab on Thursday after two more patients died, according to government statement.
The Health department said two patients who tested positive died on Thursday. While one hailed from Barnala, the other was from Ropar.
The State also reported 24 fresh cases taking the tally to 130, it added.
