PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will increase the Covid-19 testing capacity to 10,000 a day by the end of July.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, government spokesperson Ajmal Wazir said so far the province had conducted 145,958 tests. He added the overall capacity of hospitals across the province was also being increased on emergency basis.

He said the number of beds reserved for Covid-19 patients in the Lady Reading Hospital would be enhanced to 500 in coming days.

Mr Wazir said the district administrations were playing active role in implementation of the SOPs devised by government to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.

The other day, he said a total of 16,834 raids were conducted on shops, filling stations and public places, and 154 units were sealed and Rs850,421 fine was imposed on 1,236 persons over violation of SOPs.

He said 548,759 actions had been taken across the province over SOPs violations over the past month, while warnings had been issued to 134,968 businesses, 9,811 units sealed and Rs27 million fine imposed on 65,194 persons for violating SOPs.

Mr Wazir said smart lockdown had been implemented in 14 more areas and 26,257 persons in those areas had been issued instructions to limit their movement and strictly follow the government guidelines.

He said 62,462 hectares of land had so far been sprayed during the anti-locust operation, adding 80 teams comprising 758 personnel were taking part in the operation.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2020