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UP: COVID-19 test lab inaugurated in Sangam city
With the opening of Covid-19 testing lab in Prayagraj, not only valuable time would be saved but contact tracing for curbing spread of the coronavirus would also be expedited.
A dedicated lab, equipped with requisite equipment and protection standards, was inaugurated at MLN Medical College’s microbiology department on Tuesday.
With the opening of Covid-19 testing lab in Prayagraj, not only valuable time would be saved but contact tracing for curbing spread of the coronavirus would also be expedited.
The Covid-19 testing lab, which has been set up on the instruction of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, was opened at the MLN Medical College’s microbiology department after it received the mandatory go ahead from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
District magistrate Bhanu Chandra Goswami inaugurated the lab in presence of MLN Medical College principal Dr SP Singh and other officials.
Till now, all samples of COVID-19 suspected patients were being sent to the labs at King George Medical University in Lucknow and also to Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU). In such a situation, even if the tests were conducted quickly, it took at least one to two days for the results to reach doctors and health department officials, informed MLN Medical College officials.
“After opening of this lab, the test results will become available quickly—in mere 8-odd hours”, said MLN Medical College principal Dr SP Singh.
He said that more and quicker test results would help health department officials contain spread of the virus and also treat infected people with a greater speed.
“The lab will function strictly as per the ICMR guidelines,” he added.
The newly opened facility has two labs-Biosafety level (BSL)-2 and BSL-3, officials informed.
BSL–2 biosafety level covers laboratories that work with agents associated with human diseases (i.e. pathogenic or infections organisms), posing a moderate health hazard while BSL-3 laboratories are designated for indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease through the inhalation route of exposure, they explained. The lab will function with its own staff and MLNMC experts, working in coordination with Dr Amita Jain of King George Medical University, who will be the nodal officer, said Dr Monica Singh, head of the microbiology department of MLNMC. The patients will not be required to visit the lab.
“A collection room has been set up near the isolation ward for COVID-19 patients at SRN Hospital where the samples would be collected from all three levels of setups, put in place for the coronavirus suspected patients as per the set procedure and then will be sent to the lab for tests”, she elaborated.
