The Viral Research Diagnosis Laboratory (VRDL) at Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences has attracted the attention of the State by securing the first place among laboratories in terms of its performance against the daily testing capacity. The lab, with its daily capacity of 2,000 tests, conducted an average of 3,376 tests in the May 8 – 14 week, registering a performance of 169%.
The Hassan district administration, in a communiqué here on Sunday, said the lab had been performing beyond its capacity, given the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the district. The VRDL, set up in 2016, was among the first labs in the country to process samples for the infection when COVID-19 started spreading. For many months, samples collected in 7 to 8 districts were tested here. Then, it had the capacity to test only 300 samples in a day. Gradually, this was enhanced.
The administration appreciated the efforts of HIMS Director B.C. Ravi Kumar and District Surgeon V.R. Krishnamurthy in making proper use of the lab.
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Hassan reported 1,310 cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths on Sunday. With this, the total number increased to 64,309 and the death toll rose to 801. Among the dead, six are from Channarayapatna taluk, five from Arsikere, three each from Arkalgud and Hassan taluks, two from Sakaleshpur and one more from another district.
So far 47,408 have recovered from the infection and 16,100 are under treatment. Among them, 133 people are in the intensive care unit. As many as 1,318 patients were discharged from the hospital on Sunday.