Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (HB/EP)

Udupi, Jul 7: The construction of Covid lab in the government district hospital is completed and all set to begin functioning anytime soon. The facility would enable testing of throat swabs of suspected patients in the district itself.

Modern laboratory machines and instruments worth Rs one crore are installed in the lab. The construction cost Rs 45 lac. A microbiologist and eight lab technicians are appointed. The microbiologist and two lab technicians are trained at NIMHANS.

“Five samples from NIMHANS were sent to the laboratory for experiment and the reports were sent back. Once verified with the reports from NIMHANS, tests will begin in the newly set up laboratory. The reports are expected to arrive in another two days,” district hospital surgeon Dr Madhusudan Nayak said.

The lab is completely air conditioned and 96 samples can be tested at a time. It would take about four to six hours for the test reports to arrive. This would enable a maximum of 300 samples tested in a day. The details of collecting samples and the reports would be made available online as per the ICMR guidelines.

“Tests will be conducted by staff wearing PPE kits. The samples will be collected in the processing room in the beginning, kept in a safety cabinet, conveyed to test rooms through a pass box and to the room where the RTPCR machines are installed for tests,” the microbiologist at the lab Dr Aneeth D’ Souza said.

Dr Nayak said that a test would cost Rs 1,600 including test kits and safety items. The amount would be reimbursed from the District Natural Disaster Fund.