Time taken to confirm and declare a COVID-19 case is set to come down as the confirmatory test will now be performed in government laboratories instead of sending samples to National Institute of Virology (NIV)-Pune.
As per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines to State Nodal and Testing VRDLs for coronavirus, if a sample collected from a suspect tests positive at laboratories in the State, a second sample has to be sent to NIV-Pune for confirmation.
Health Minister Eatala Rajender said they would no longer have to send the samples to Pune. “The final test will be done in Hyderabad,” he added.
Osmania Medical College (OMC) principal P. Shashikala said kits used for the first and second tests are the same. “But the gene which is tested will be different,” she said.
Till Monday, samples collected from suspects were tested only at VRDL laboratory at Gandhi Medical College. From Wednesday, samples would be tested at a lab in OMC too. Prior to this, results of 10 samples tested at OMC had to be verified by sending them to NIV Pune.
Preparations are also under way to test samples at Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal, Fever Hospital in Nallakunta, Institute of Preventive Medicine in Narayanguda and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Punjagutta.
