On Wednesday, Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid held a press conference regarding the COVID-19 situation in the province.

She warned the public against selling plasma and encouraged recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their plasma . She also told that the government has set up several plasma banks. She said:

"Those who have recovered from COVID-19, Allah has been very Benevolent to you. Donate your plasma in our plasma banks as a Sadaqa Jariya. It's sad that some people have sold their plasma for as much as 5 lac rupees. Plasma sale is now strictly prohibited & action will be taken against anyone involved In it."

Health Minister also notified the public about the various steps taken by PTI-led Punjab government in these words:

"In Lahore in the last ten days, the number of high dependency units (HDUs) beds has been increased from 671 to 1228 and ICU beds have been increased from 187 to 205. By the grace of Allah, the situation is still under control and the government is leaving no stone unturned to control the spread of the virus. All the patients have been provided with the best medicine absolutely free of cost. Even the Actemra injection that is worth Rs.102,000 in the market is given absolutely free to critical patients in government hospitals."

She further said:

"It's incorrect that apart from dealing with COVID-19, patients with other diseases have been ignored. OPDs are open across Punjab. HIV and Hepatitis tests, as well as vaccination is also being done regularly."

On the issue of national cricketer Mohammed Hafeez's controversial COVID-19 tests, Dr. Yasmin Rashid commented:

"There is a 30-40% chance of False Negative COVID-19 test, and also there is a little chance of a False Positive result. So people with False Negative results should also take precautionary measures."