To ramp up testing, Prime Minister opens 3 labs

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, July 27

Reiterating the battle against Covid-19 is a long-drawn one, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today suggested that efforts be made to associate more voluntary serving and retired health professionals so that fatigue does not set in with Covid warriors.

Emphasising that right decisions taken at the right time helped in stabilising the situation in the country, he said in comparison to most countries, the death rate in India from the disease remained lowest, while the recovery rate was much more and improving by the day.

The PMsaid this after inaugurating three high-throughput testing facilities at the 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.

Besides the ability to test over 10,000 samples a day, these labs will reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The labs are enabled to test diseases other than Covid and post the pandemic will be able to test for hepatitis B and C, HIV, mycobacterium tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus and dengue.

He said besides the challenge of building physical infrastructure, the country should also prepare human resource in the form of trained paramedics.