• Sibtain Ahmed, Lena Jafri, Hafsa Majid, Aysha Habib Khan, Farooq Ghani, and Imran Siddiqui.
• Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi, 74800, Pakistan.
• Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2020 Jul 1; 55: 300-304.

AbstractCorona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. Compared with its neighbors China and Iran, which were rated as epi-centers of the outbreak, Pakistan has lower standards of health care, unstable economy and dearth of financial resources to tackle the outbreak. Like other institutes and industries in the country, clinical laboratories were succumbed to a variety of challenges. This article is based on the experience and adapted workflow measures from the Clinical Chemistry laboratory at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, which serves as a national referral center with its widespread network of satellite laboratories and phlebotomy centers across the country. It highlights the challenges faced and the appropriate responses to ensure the provision of diagnostic facilities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, the lessons acquired and necessary preparations for the post crisis situation are also incorporated.© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd.

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