Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said that 16 more testing labs will be set up soon for Covid-19 testing around the country.
It will be possible to increase the number of tests to 8,000-10,000 per day when these 16 new labs are added in the existing roster, he said while addressing the inauguration program of Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital’s 500-bed for Covid-19 treatment in Dhaka city, reports UNB.
In the beginning, there was only one testing lab and that has been increased to 36 where more than 5,000 samples are being tested every day, he said, adding that a testing lab will be set up in this hospital too.
The 700-bed hospital in the city’s Eskatan Garden Road has been announced as as Covid-19 hospital, and 500 beds have been dedicated only for the Covid-19 patients, said the minister.
Coronavirus treatment will be given here till October 2020, he said.
Popularly known as the Holy Family Hospital, the institution has all the facilities to provide Covid-19 treatment, said Zahid.
“Such a self-contained hospital can play an effective role in this situation. There are enough medical staffs. In addition, the hospital has 10 ICUs, seven ventilators, seven dialysis machines and other necessary equipment,” he added.
There are more than 75 separate cabins. If anything more is needed for Covid-19 patients’ treatment, the government will provide it here, said the minister.
Until Sunday afternoon, health authorities in Bangladesh recorded 14,657 Covid-19 cases and 228 deaths from the deadly disease.
Until Sunday, a total of 122,657 Covid-19 tests were conducted in 35 laboratories across the country.
As per data of the health services directorate, 5,642 samples were collected and total 5,738 were tested in 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday afternoon.