ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has assured that the latest facility will be made available in two weeks in Pakistan.
Mirza said the country has a lack of facility to detect the deadly coronavirus in the current situation. In a statement issued here, Dr Zafar Mirza said samples of the suspected cases will be sent to international labs for testing.
He further said samples would be referred to labs of three countries, including China and Holland until the labs with the facility to detect the coronavirus are established in the country.
He said specific virology labs have the necessary equipment to diagnose such diseases. China’s National Health Commission earlier said 830 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed so far and 25 people had died as of Thursday.
Most of the cases are in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated late last year. Non-fatal cases have been found in at least seven other countries.
Health officials fear the transmission rate could accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during week-long holidays for the Lunar New Year, which begins on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
