Photo Credit: The Nation
LAHORE, Oct 02 (APP):Coronavirus test is not mandatory for students or staff members of any educational institution in the province, said Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) Punjab Secretary Captain (retd) Muhammad Usman Younis in a statement issued here on Friday.
He said that complaints had been received that some educational institutes were demanding COVID-19 test from their students and staff members. He said that such demands were ‘illegal’. He clarified that P&SHD would conduct random sampling according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) devised by the government in the educational institutions.
He said that one-time test for COVID-19 did not guarantee full protection against the coronavirus pandemic therefore the demand of coronavirus test report from students or staff was unnecessary additional financial burden on them. “The government does not allow any mandatory COVID-19 test report from the students or staff,” he added.
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Captain Usman said that sampling for coronavirus test for ‘every citizen’ was not mandatory on detection of few cases in the most sensitive areas for COVID-19, and test of a citizen would only be conducted if he or she showed symptoms of coronavirus. All departments and educational institutions were directed to ensure implementation of SOPs instead of testing, as the single best solution for protection from COVID-19 was social distancing and following precautions according to the SOPs, the secretary stated.
“A collective effort against coronavirus is important than anything else,” he said.
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