Will bear cost of testing kits: Punjab Govt

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

The state government has decided to come to the rescue of the Central testing facilities which are unable to enhance their capacities due to non-availability of kits from the ICMR. The CM has directed such centres to purchase kits from the open market, for which the state will bear the expenses. The state is testing 2,800 persons a day, up from 1,500 per day last week.

To deal with the pressure, the state government has also decided to rope in universities and state-run labs, with the CM sanctioning Rs12 crore for equipment and operational expense for six institutions — Regional Disease Diagnostic Lab, Jalandhar; GADVASU, Ludhiana; Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Punjabi University, Patiala; Punjab Biotech Incubator, Mohali; and Punjab Forensic Lab, Mohali.

Quarantine in hotels for NRIs

The government is planning to offer paid quarantine facilities in hotels for NRIs returning to the state in the coming days. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh asked the deputy commissioners to identify private hotels that could be offered to NRIs on payment.

He also directed the DCs to prepare an inventory of functional/non-functional private hospitals. He said the state was prepared to handle a large influx of NRIs from other nations and stranded people from across the country and issued a series of directives to check the spread of Covid-19, including directives to the Health Department to ensure mandatory screening of all such returnees.