GB Nagar gets one more Covid-19 testing and plasma therapy centre

The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida and National Institute of Biologicals in Noida are the other two testing centers, while GIMS also has approval to administer plasma therapy.

Gautam Budh Nagar district got its third Covid-19 testing centre on Wednesday with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approving the Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI) in Sector 30. The apex Indian body for biomedical research also permitted the hospital to administer plasma therapy on trial basis to Covid-19 patients.

GB Nagar recorded six more Covid-19 cases on Wednesday taking the total to 236 in the district. (Dheeraj Dhawan/ HT file photo)

The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida and National Institute of Biologicals in Noida are the other two testing centers, while GIMS also has approval to administer plasma therapy.

Plasma therapy involves treating the patient with the plasma of a compatible patient who recovered from Covid-19. The antibodies present in the plasma is expected to help the patient fight off the infection.

Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida and Jaypee Hospital in Noida’s sector 128 await the final nod from the state authorities to use their molecular labs for Covid-19 testing.

With more testing centers coming up in the district, it is expected that it will reduce the time to test samples. Recently, the NIB sent over 100 samples to the GIMS lab following a technical snag. GIMS also faced the similar problem few days back following which many results were returned “inconclusive”.

“The laboratory has been approved for Covid– 19 testing by ICMR and as per recommendations of King George’s Medical University (KGMU, in Lucknow) after remote assessment of the laboratory quality and facility. External Quality Result Validation with National Institute of Biologicals, Noida was also done with control samples before commencement of the facility,” informed the SSPHPGTI authorities.

The hospital has also started a Covid Plasma Registry which will work as a plasma reserve of all blood groups, to serve as the nodal centre for anybody who needs plasma at national level, informed Dr DK Gupta, director, SSPHPGTI.

Six more cases

GB Nagar recorded six more Covid-19 cases on Wednesday taking the total to 236 in the district.

The new patients include a 34-year-old man from the Sector 66, he contracted infection through the earlier cases in the area. Recently, a 62-year-old man had died from the area.

A 51-year-old man from sector 5 and a 24-year-old man from sector 8 of Noida were also found positive for the infection. Officials are suspecting that the patient from sector 5 is part of the Ceasefire trail as four persons including a domestic help of an employee of fire safety solutions company Ceasefire, who was found positive earlier.

The cluster of JJ Colony in Sector 8, 9 and 10 is the most problematic cluster for the officials to contain the Covid-19 spread in the district. Around 54 persons have been found positive for the deadly virus from the JJ Colony of sectors 8, 9 and 10 till now.

A 30-year-old male doctor working in a private hospital and a resident of Jewar and a 30-year-old woman from sector 76 of Noida were also found positive. Their source of infection is yet to be identified. The woman lives with her husband in a residential society and her source of infection is yet to be identified as she has not been going out since the lockdown was announced.

A 22-year-old man from sector 22 was also found positive and he is expected to have contracted the infection from the two elderly couple who were found positive earlier. The 60-year-old husband of the woman had died on Monday night.

Two patients were discharged from the Sharda Hospital including a 25-year-old Afghan national from Greater Noida and a 42-year-old man from the sector 8 of Noida.

By Wednesday night, the health department collected a total of 4376 samples. Currently, there are 90 active Covid-19 cases in the district. Around 501 persons are under institutional quarantine while positive 143 patients have been discharged after completing the treatment successfully.