The trial run of testing throat swab samples for detecting COVID-19 has begun in the new virology laboratory set up at the Government Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, according to Y. Bharat Shetty, MLA, Mangaluru City North and co-ordinator for COVID-19 cases in Dakshina Kannada.
The laboratory is awaiting the final approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The approval is expected soon, Dr. Shetty said.
About 100 samples could be tested per day in the laboratory set up at an estimated cost of ₹80 lakh. After getting the final approval from the ICMR, the samples from the district need not be sent to the Government Medical College in Hassan for testing, he said.
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Dr. Shetty said that 41 persons from Dakshina Kannada who had attended the religious congregation organized by the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi last month have been identified till April 2. Of them, 15 persons have been quarantined in different states and 24 persons have been quarantined in a building opposite Yenepoya Medical College Hospital at Deralakatte near Mangaluru city. The remaining two persons have been quarantined in the ESI Hospital in Mangaluru city.