‘4 Covid labs to be set up in Punjab’

Chandigarh: To improve its Covid-19 testing capacity, Punjab government is going to set up four new laboratories, said minister of medical education and research O P Soni on Friday.
The government intends to set up new labs at Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (North Zone), Jalandhar, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Ludhiana, and in Mohali’s State Forensic Science Lab and Punjab Biotech Incubator.
“We are also in touch with IISER, NABIt and NIPER to start new viral testing labs being central government institutions. Punjab Government provided support to Dayanand Medical College and Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, in starting labs. We will be able to provide more data for Covid now,” he said.
Giving details of initiatives taken by the medical education and research department for the testing and treatment of Covid-19, he said, “As part of testing strategy a lab was set up at Patiala on March 9 and then in Amritsar on March 10 in Amritsar. On April 12, a testing lab was started in Faridkot. Our faculty members, para-medics and lab technicians have worked very hard to start these labs in minimum possible time,” he added.