Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid received six Bio Safety Cabinets donated by the World Health Organization at the Lab of TB Control Program, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department here on Monday. Present on the occasion were Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Captain (Retd) Usman Younis, World Health Organization representative in Pakistan Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, officials of TB Control Program, Ms. Rafia Haider, Dr. Jamshed and other officials of the Department. The Health Minister said on the occasion, “We are grateful to the WHO for giving away Bio Safety Cabinets which will significantly enhance our capacity to perform Corona and other tests a great deal. All of these Bio Safety Cabinets will be installed at different BSL-3 Labs in Punjab. The testing capacity is increased by around 600 tests a cabinet apiece in a day. Currently 16 BSL Labs are performing Corona tests in Public sector and overall more than 50 labs in Punjab have the capacity to perform Corona tests. The WHO has always been supportive in challenges. The government is implementing Corona SOPs in accordance with the WHO guidelines to control virus transmission. The second wave of Corona Pandemic is much more severe globally than the first wave. Europe is re-imposing lockdowns as winter comes. We have already scaled up the capacity to fight epidemics and Pandemics in Punjab. Our facilities are well prepared, our doctors have learnt so much and we have developed a capacity to fight the Pandemic.” WHO representative Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala said that WHO will continue to support Pakistan. He appreciated Punjab Health Minister for taking measures to control the Pandemic. Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Captain (Retd) Usman Younis said Punjab has intensified the process of Contact Tracing in the wake of increasing number of cases. He said there is strong potential of increase in the number of cases due to Smog factor in Lahore, hence people must be especially vigilant.