From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Apr 16: Chief Minister B S Yediyruappa inaugurated the COVID 19 Mobile Testing Booth in his Home Office, Krishna, in Bengaluru on Thursday.

The Mobile testing kiosk is aimed at swift collection and testing of infection in identified clusters and hotspots.

The Chief Minister said the mobile testing kiosk eliminates the need for at-risk persons to visit the nearest hospital or clinic and helps in effective implementation of social distancing norms during collection and testing of samples.

Two booths were launched in the presence of Health and Family Minister B Sriramulu, COVID-19 Spokesperson and Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan.

While one of the booths would be stationed near the Chief Minister’s Office `Krishna,’ another booth would be deployed in Bengaluru South.

“Through the kiosk, we have reduced the risk of COVID-suspect individuals spreading the infection to those around them,” said Surya, whose office brought together the fabrication experts, doctors from RGUHS and HCG, technical advice from young doctors from KLE Institute and financial assistance to build the kiosk.

The booths have been developed by Manoj P Kudtharkar of Mantra e-ventures, a startup based in Bengaluru.

Dr Vishal Rao, member of the COVID-19 Consultative Group, an advisory body to Government of Karnataka, has mentored the project.

The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences would provide assistance in scaling up the operations using its network of colleges and hospitals for the testing of individuals on the ground.

The booth of 6.5 feet in height and 3 feet in width, is made up of aluminum and acrylic glass, surfaces known to be resistant against the Corona Virus.

The booth resembles a normal telephone booth and can be mounted on a mini-truck or a pickup truck, which can be parked in an open field or a cluster.

The utility also supports Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for booth workers (healthcare staff). Gloves and a medical kit to collect samples are placed inside the booth for the healthcare worker.

An individual walks up to the mobile booth and stands in front of the glass exterior. The healthcare worker, stationed inside the booth, collects swab samples from the individual.

The ‘booth worker’ follows the necessary sanitisation process before proceeding to take the next sample.

A public address system will provide simple instructions for the individual for his/her entry and exit. The collection process, fully contactless, gets over in five minutes. The samples are then taken to the nearest COVID-19 lab for further investigation.