PM to launch COVID-19 testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata on Monday

New Delhi, July 26

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch on Monday “high throughput” COVID-19 testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata, which will ramp up testing capacity and help strengthen early detection and treatment in the country, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The virtual launch event will be attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the chief ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh — Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee and Yogi Adityanath respectively.

The three high throughput testing facilities have been set up strategically at the ICMR institutions — National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research in Noida, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health in Mumbai and National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Kolkata.

These will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

These labs will also reduce turnaround time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials.

The labs are enabled to test diseases other than COVID-19 as well, and post the pandemic, will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, mycobacterium tuberculosis, chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, neisseria and dengue, the statement said. PTI