DW BUREAU / Chandigarh COVID-19 testing will begin at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bathinda with an initial capacity of 180 tests a day, and in a months time, will be increased to 500 a day, according to a Punjab government release issued on Tuesday. Within a month, a 30-bed Level-II COVID care facility will also become functional at the hospital, it said. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the hospital's COVID care preparedness, the release said. The meeting was attended by AIIMS-Bathinda's Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Kumar Singh and other officials, it said. Describing AIIMS-Bathinda as a highly prestigious institute of Punjab, Amarinder Singh said the health institute will be of immense benefit to a large number of patients in the Malwa belt of the state. Malwa is a region of Punjab south to river Sutlej. The chief minister assured officials from AIIMS-Bathinda all support from the state government to facilitate COVID care at the hospital, where some ancillary construction work have been delayed due the novel coronavirus pandemic. Officials informed Amarinder Singh that the hospital is set to launch MRI, CT-SCAN and X-RAY facilities soon. Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the state government will extend all help to the institute to put COVID care and other essential infrastructure in place to strengthen Punjab's fight against the pandemic. On the construction of a flyover to connect the NH-54 to AIIMS-Bathinda, she said the government is taking up the matter with the National Highway Authority of India. (editor@dailyworld.in)