Punjab health authorities have sealed a PCR diagnostic laboratory in Bahria Town Phase 8 in Rawalpindi for reportedly concealing a number of positive coronavirus cases.
As per media reports, the lab was established illegally without approval of the Punjab Healthcare Commission and was found to be violating the standard operational procedures (SOPs) announced by the provincial government.
Renowned news anchor, Nadeem Malik, claimed that the said laboratory in Bahria Town phase 8 hospital, had concealed up to 45 to 50 Covid-19 positive cases.
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He said that the PCR lab was sealed because it neither followed the standard protocol regarding the safety of the staff from contracting the virus, nor the government issued SOPs.
The standard protocol for every private lab is that they share information related to positive cases with the government so that its close contacts could be traced out and tested. However, the said laboratory did just the opposite: it handed over reports directly to patients.
Moreover, the lab concealed about 50 cases, which is akin to plotting the local transmission of the virus. As per health experts, a single coronavirus patient can communicate the virus to about 35 to 40 people in no time, Malik stated.
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Malik also lamented Bahria Town’s advertisement in newspapers related to its cheap testing facility in Lahore, saying that the real estate company is not authorized and qualified to run a diagnostic lab.
So far, more than 30 cases have surfaced in Bahria Town Rawalpindi. As a precautionary measure, the health department has decided to retest all positive cases, trace their close connections, and test them as well.