Guj: Cong leader demands coronavirus testing lab in Amreli

The leader of opposition in Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani on Tuesday wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel demanding a coronavirus testing lab in Amreli district as cases were rising there.

The leader of opposition in Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani on Tuesday wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel demanding a coronavirus testing lab in Amreli district as cases were rising there. In the letter, senior Congress leader Dhanani said 45 COVID-19 cases had been reported in Amreli in a short time and there was no laboratory to test for the infection.

"Since there is no lab in the entire district, samples are being sent to other districts for tests and reports arrive after almost 24 or in some case 48 hours. In many cases, patients have died before test results came in," Dhanani, who represents Amreli Assembly seat, said. "Cases are on the rise in Amreli and across Gujarat after several restrictions were lifted under 'unlock 1'. In this scenario, I urge you to release funds on urgent basis to buy testing equipment and to set up a COVID-19 laboratory in Amreli," Dhanani said in the letter to Patel, who is also state health minister.

So far, Gujarat has reported 27,880 COVID-19 cases, with 1,685 people having died of the infection..