Haryana’s first Covid testing lab in Panchkula to start from May 1

Health teams will conduct trials on Thursday with a few samples, before formally beginning on Friday

To streamline the process of sampling and cutting down the waiting period of reports; the Panchkula health department on Wednesday finally set up its own Covid-19 testing lab at the Sector 6 civil hospital. The process had started earlier this month and setting up of machinery and infrastructure picked up pace last week.

So far, the district health department is dependent on Chandigarh’s PGIMER and IMTech lab where samples are sent for testing. (Amal KS/HT file photo. Representative image)

On Wednesday, Haryana assembly speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta with deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja visited the hospital to take stock of the lab. Gupta said it is the first real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) lab of the state which is a technique of molecular biology.

“The government had decided to open 5 labs for Covid-19 testing in the state, of which the first lab is ready in Panchkula. This lab will prove beneficial for residents of the surrounding areas, too,” he added.

So far, the district health department is dependent on Chandigarh’s PGIMER and IMTech lab where samples are sent for testing. Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur said the infrastructure for testing lab was prepared in last few days and doctors and staff have been trained in PGIMER, Chandigarh.

She said health teams will hold a trial on Thursday with few of the samples and will most likely start testing at the lab from May 1. “In this lab, samples will be tested in three batches. Around 24 samples can be placed at a single time in the machine, so with three batches we plan to test about 80 samples a day. For a single set of samples in a batch, the process will take around 5 hours for the reports,” said Dr Kaur.