Health officials in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region recently announced that an HIV diagnosis laboratory will begin operating in the city in 2016.

A city-level HIV diagnosis laboratory will be built and put into use this year, Phentok said, noting that the new facility will feature more testing equipment and will employ more medical workers with relevant technical qualifications, Tibet Business Daily reported Wednesday.

Testing locations will extend coverage to all the counties and districts in Lhasa, and a network of HIV testing labs will be strengthened, Phentok added.

The local government will invest more in HIV prevention and control, said Phentok, an official in charge of the disease control division of the Lhasa health bureau.

Farmers, herdsmen, teenagers and sex workers will be the target groups for intervention measures, Phentok pointed out.

In addition, several measures will be applied to promote the prevention and diagnosis of chronic diseases, including among monks and nuns.

Between January and November 2014, Tibet saw 75 more confirmed HIV cases. Some 81 percent of the cases were among people age 21 to 50, news site chinatibetnews.com reported.