Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt General Muhammad Afzal on Wednesday announced that there was no shortage of necessary medical equipment to handle the coronavirus in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the entire Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) required for dealing with Covid-19 patients, except ventilators, were being manufactured in Pakistan.

Afzal said civil work in the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Islamabad would be completed by 15th of this month, and the hospital would become functional by the end of this month.

The chairman NDMA said that Pakistan had brought 154 tons of medical equipments from China through 11 flights, adding that in March it was difficult to buy masks and the price had increased by Rs50.

He added that masks were smuggled out of the country, which was why it was difficult to buy masks within the country.

He said the NDMA was given $50 million for procuring the equipment.

The NDMA has so far spent half of the amount.

The country's COVID-19 testing capacity should be 50,000 as resources are abound and current COVID-19 testing average is 11,500, and need is to enhance it up to the optimum level.

He said that the country had only five laboratories in March as compared to 70 laboratories right now.

The NDMA is procuring PPEs from the local market except ventilators.

The NDMA has the stocks of one month available.

Pakistan had indeed started producing N-95 masks, he added.

A transparent system has been devised for maintaining transparency in purchasing safety items.

He said a total of four committees had been constituted for ensuring transparency in purchases.

Another committee namely Strategic Response, Coordination Implementation Committee, headed by chairman NDMA has also been working for evaluating needs, deciding purchase mechanism, to meet demands of provinces and distribution and to ensure government decision implementation.

He said safety items were being purchased through a competitive tendering process.

N-95 masks are available at Rs300 from Rs2,000, while ordinary mask is available at Rs9 or Rs10 per mask.

He said in March, it was a challenge to provide masks to frontline 22,000 doctors and paramedics.

39,500 PPEs were provided to 22,000 frontline doctors by April 5. A transparent distribution system has been put in place to directly deliver safety equipment to hospitals, he said, adding that the NDMA had established 300 beds quarantine centre at Haji Camp, Islamabad.

The NDMA has already set up helpline UAN 111-157-157 for registering complaints of doctors and paramedics.

No complaint has been received in helpline for the last five days.

Only five complaints were received, which were resolved accordingly.

He said the NDMA had provided thermal scanners and other equipment to all airports.

He said a 255-bed isolation or infectious diseases hospital in Islamabad would be functional by end of current month.

Civil work has already been completed.

The work on the project was started on March 30th.

Responding to a question, he urged people to follow precautionary measures as pandemic still looms.

Responding to a question, he said five helicopters had been hired from the Pakistan Army to spray poisonous fumes over the fields covering thousands of acres of land in a bid to rid them of the pest.

China has given 300,000 litre malathion and the NDMA was procuring 175,000 litre malathion to provinces. The spraying of 5,000 hectares has already been completed, while 500,000 hectare area will be sprayed.