Drive-in Covid testing and vaccination centres set up in MP

Drive-through Covid testing centers will help save time as sample collection at home was a time taking process. The initiative was also in line with MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s call for improving the rate of testing in the state.

Two drive-in Covid 19 testing centres have been set-up at Indore to speed up testing at a time when rising infections in the second wave of the disease have overwhelmed healthcare facilities. An officer of the Indore municipal corporation said the drive-in centres were aimed to resolve the pendency in sample collection for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR tests. Indore is the worst affected city in MP with 12,591 active cases.

The two drive-in centres at Indore have a combined capacity for 4,000 tests a day.

The two drive-in centers have a combined capacity for 4,000 tests a day and the results will be made available within 24 hours, said Pratibha Pal, commissioner, Indore Municipal Corporation. The corporation has also made special arrangements for testing the specially-abled at these two centres.

At these centres, pathology staff will collect samples as suspected patients drive through the testing counters in their two and four-wheelers. However, Indore residents will have to register in advance for giving RT PCR samples, the officer added.

She said drive-through centers will help save time as sample collection at home was a time taking process. The initiative was also in line with MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s call for improving the rate of testing in the state. On Monday, official data showed that 54,982 samples were tested in the state, taking the total past 75.11 lakh mark.

Meanwhile, the MP tourism department has allocated space for a drive-in vaccination facility in Bhopal. From May 1, people will be able to get a jab of the Covid vaccine while sitting inside their four-wheelers, said Sheo Shekhar Shukla, principal secretary, tourism and culture department. Approximately 300 doses will be administered through this mode every day.

Madhya Pradesh is currently witnessing a surge in cases. As per the Union health ministry, there are currently 91,548 active cases in the state. The state, on Monday, reported 12,686 new cases, taking its tally to over five lakh, while the death toll rose by 88 and the recovery count by 11,612 in the preceding 24 hours, an official said. The state’s caseload stands at 511,990, including 5,221 deaths, while 414,235 people have been discharged so far, the data showed.