'Federal 'Minister 'for 'Science 'and 'Technology, 'Chaudhry 'Fawad 'Hussain 'Thursday 'said 'around '1,50,000 'Coronavirus 'testing 'kits 'will 'be 'manufactured 'within 'the 'next 'few 'weeks.

Talking 'to 'the 'media 'after 'his 'visit 'to 'National 'University 'of 'Science 'and 'Technology '(NUST), ' 'the 'federal 'minister 'said ' 'the 'brilliant 'team 'of 'NUST 'has 'prepared 'Corona 'testing 'kits 'and 'sent 'those 'to 'the 'Drug 'Regulatory 'Authority 'of 'Pakistan '(DRAP) 'for 'approval.

The 'university 'itself 'checked 'the 'results 'of 'these 'testing 'kits 'by 'taking 'samples 'from 'different 'hospitals 'for 'their 'satisfaction 'and 'then 'sent 'to 'DRAP, 'he 'said.

"We 'will 'be 'able 'to 'use 'these 'testing 'kits 'soon 'after 'approval 'from 'DRAP", 'he 'said.

Fawad 'Chaudhry 'said 'Pakistan 'Engineering 'Council '(PEC) 'has 'received '48 'designs 'of 'ventilators 'and 'approved 'three 'out 'of 'those.

These 'designs 'have 'been 'sent 'to 'DRAP 'for 'approval 'too, 'he 'said.

He 'said 'that 'the 'DRAP 'has 'constituted 'an 'expert 'committee 'both 'for 'testing 'kits 'and 'ventilators, 'which 'will 'be 'meeting 'soon.

The 'minister 'observed 'that 'time-to-market 'for 'medical 'devices, 'particularly 'ones 'that 'are 'invasive, 'is 'not 'a 'short 'process. 'Considering 'the 'inherently 'lengthy 'process, 'these 'particular 'kits 'are 'being 'fast-tracked 'so 'that 'the 'immediate 'requirement 'of 'the 'country 'can 'be 'met 'as 'early 'as 'possible, 'and 'dependence 'on 'imported 'kits 'can 'be 'reduced.

Appreciating 'the 'efforts 'of 'NUST 'researchers 'and 'scientists, 'the 'federal 'minister 'said 'this 'is 'the 'attitude 'we 'need 'from 'our 'universities.

Fawad 'Chaudhry 'commended 'NUST 'for 'coming 'up 'with 'highly 'innovative 'and 'effective 'products 'at 'a 'fast 'pace 'to 'purge 'the 'country 'from 'the 'pandemic 'that 'has 'been 'wreaking 'havoc 'globally.

The 'Minister 'also 'praised 'the 'scientists 'for 'having 'sequenced 'the 'complete 'genome 'of 'SARS-CoV-2, 'which 'would 'help 'develop 'more 'accurate 'diagnostics 'for 'this 'virus 'and 'will 'also 'impact 'vaccine 'development 'studies.

Talking 'about 'fake 'and 'low 'quality 'sanitisers 'being 'sold 'in 'the 'market, 'he 'encouraged 'NUST 'to 'expedite 'work 'on 'the 'commercialisation 'of 'high 'quality 'sanitisers 'developed 'by 'the 'university.

Earlier, 'Lt 'Gen 'Naweed 'Zaman, 'HI '(M), '(Retd), 'Rector 'NUST, 'along 'with 'the 'Principal 'Investigators '(PIs), 'apprised 'the 'Minister 'about 'specifications 'and 'applications 'of 'projects 'displayed 'at 'the 'occasion.

These 'projects 'included 'tele-operated 'decontamination 'robot, 'aerial 'spraying 'drone, 'robust 'and 'cost-effective 'PCR-based 'testing 'kits 'for 'the 'detection 'of 'Coronavirus; 'bilingual '(Urdu 'and 'English) 'COVID-19 'self-screening 'app, 'the 'world?s 'first 'Urdu 'app 'for 'Android, 'named 'COVID 'CHECK 'PAKISTAN '(app 'is 'available 'at 'http://ncra.org.pk/covid/); 'high-quality 'sanitisers 'for 'microbial 'control, 'produced 'as 'per 'the 'revised 'guidelines 'of 'the 'World 'Health 'Organisation '(WHO) 'and 'Centers 'for 'Disease 'Control 'and 'Prevention '(CDC), 'USA; 'and 'ventilator 'systems 'for 'short-term 'stabilisation '(ranging 'from 'few 'hours 'to '1 'day) 'of 'COVID-19 'patients, 'as 'per 'the 'design 'specifications 'specially 'issued 'for 'combatting 'COVID-19 'by 'the 'Medicines 'and 'Healthcare 'products 'Regulator 'Agency '(MHRA), 'UK.

Later, 'the 'Minister 'witnessed 'a 'demonstration 'of 'the 'decontamination 'systems 'developed 'by 'scientists 'for 'disinfecting 'open 'and 'closed 'spaces. 'These 'technologies ' 'will 'be 'used 'to 'disinfect 'high 'risk 'and 'critically 'important 'locations, 'such 'as 'hospitals, 'in- 'and 'outdoor 'quarantine 'camps, 'airports, 'commercial 'spaces, 'etc., 'to 'lower 'the 'risk 'of 'Coronavirus 'spread.

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