Chandigarh, Aug 10 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday appealed to the people of the state to fight the coronavirus pandemic in unison and with morale like that of a soldier.

"Back in my Army days, I had learnt a very important lesson that when we fight together we don't get battle fatigue," he said in a tweet.

"I urge all Punjabis to come together against Covid-19 for it's a long fight and we'll need to inspire one another and, importantly, keep up our morale."

On the Chief Minister's directive, the state Medical Education and Research department has set up four new Covid-19 viral testing labs to enhance the daily testing capacity of 4,000 tests from the next month with 1,000 tests per day per lab.

Also, the total viral testing capacity in three medical colleges in Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot cities would be ramped up to 5,000 tests per day per college by August 31, an official spokesperson told IANS.

He said this initiative would go a long way to fight the pandemic as early diagnosis is key to contain and curb the spread of the disease.

Over 6.15 lakh tests have been carried out in the state till date.

Punjab has so far reported 23,903 cases with 586 deaths.