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As infections mount, Govt drafts private labs into fight against Covid-19
The Government is was ramping up its response to fight the pandemic by fast tracking testing facilities by private laboratories.
A dozen private laboratory chains have been drafted into the fight against coronavirus that has now affected over 400 people in the country, the government said Monday.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Balram Bhargava announced that the government was ramping up its response to fight the pandemic by fast tracking testing facilities by private laboratories.
“The process of kit manufacturing have been fast-tracked at ICMR-NIV Pune. 2 Kit manufacturers have already been approved. ICMR-NIV approved tests which will be done there on fast-track basis will also be acceptable for Covid testing,” ICMR Director General Balrama Bhargava said at a press conference of the health ministry.
He also said 12 private laboratory chains have been registered and have started working after being allowed the testing.
“12 laboratory chains have been registered and they have started functioning. These 12 have 15,000 collection centres across the country, he said.
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He also recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.
A health ministry official who also addressed reporters said states have been told to enforce the lockdowns strictly to ensure that desired results are achieved.
“Partial lockdown defeats the purpose of breaking the chain of transmission of novel coronavirus,” the official said.
There have been reports of large scale violations of lockdown restrictions in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Monday while Maharashtra announced a complete shutdown by sealing borders between districts.
As part of the efforts to break the chain of transmission, the Centre on Monday announced the suspension of domestic flights for an indefinite period from Wednesday.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray have been demanding such a step to stop the spread of coronavirus.
