The new labs, aimed at ramping up coronavirus testing capacity in the country, are located in Noida, Kolkata and Mumbai.
New Delhi, July 27:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three high throughput Covid-19 testing facilities on Monday. The labs are aimed at ramping up coronavirus testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, thus assisting in controlling the spread of the pandemic.
These three high-throughput testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida; ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai; and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day, a government statement said.
These labs will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The labs are enabled to test diseases other than Covid as well, and post the pandemic, will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Neisseria, Dengue, etc, the statement said.
Addressing the event via video conferencing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the new testing facilities will give West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh more strength to fight Covid-19. The prime minister said that Delhi-NCR, Kolkata and Mumbai were economic hubs with major migrant activities, thus it was crucial to add to their testing capacities.
“Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata are major centers of economic activity. Here millions of youth of the country come to fulfill their careers, their dreams. The new facilities will add 10,000 tests per day to their existing testing capacities,” the prime minister said.
Highlighting the fast pace of the development of ‘Corona Specific Health Infrastructure’, PM Modi said, “Today, there are more than 11,000 Covid-19 facilities and more than 11 lakh isolation beds in the country. We also have nearly 1,300 testing labs and more than 5 lakh tests are being conducted daily. In the coming weeks, we will try to take this number of 10 lakh tests per day.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that ‘India was in a much better position than other countries in the fight against Covid-19 due to right decisions taken at right time’. “Deaths due to coronavirus in India are much lower than many big countries,” PM Modi said.
“In Covid-19 fight, we have come to a point where we do not lack awareness, scientific data is expanding, resources are increasing,” the prime minister added.
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Science & Technology, along with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh also participated in the event.
