The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, on Tuesday, has demanded that the government increase the pace of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for coronavirus so as to control the further outbreak of the infection.

The party’s joint general secretary Prakash Sharan Mahat, who also heads the party’s COVID-19 response monitoring team, met Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal today and made the demand.

In response, the minister said the government was preparing to expand the range of PCR tests up to 10,000 tests per day, Mahat told journalists after the meeting.

The party has also demanded that the government improve the condition of quarantine camps as many people have contracted the virus in the quarantine itself in the past few weeks. Likewise, it has also complained that patients with other ailments could not receive proper services at health facilities whereas local governments suffered the budget crunch to strengthen their COVID-19 response.

Mahat was accompanied by other party leaders including Gagan Thapa, NP Saud, Mohan Basnet, and Chandra Bhandari, during the meeting.

This news was first published on OnlineKhabar dated June 30, 2020.