LAHORE: Amid a risk of disease transmission, the Punjab government has notified all hospitals in the province to improve testing for COVID-19, the pandemic that once brought the globe to its knees.
The instruction was issued in response to recent reports of an increase in coronavirus cases reported worldwide and of infections spreading throughout the province in the midst of a deadly fog.
An official from the Punjab health department issued a statement, saying, “I am directed to refer to the subject cited above and to state that according to media reports, a surge in COVID-19 cases is once again being reported in various parts of the world.”
According to the statement, COVID-19 testing is the only method available for determining the severity of the illness and halting its lethal spread.
The statement instructed all relevant agencies to follow the directives in letter and spirit.
The orders follow reports that, over the course of 28 days, from November 20, 2023, to December 17, 2023, there was a 52% increase in COVID-19 cases worldwide compared to the same period the previous year, with over 850,000 additional cases recorded.
A fresh COVID-19 epidemiological report on the global and regional situation was released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 24. It included data on hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and updates on variations of interest and variants under surveillance.
