Coronavirus crisis: PM Modi to launch 3 'high-throughput' COVID-19 testing facilities today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate 'high-throughput' COVID-19 testing facilities in three cities via video conferencing today. These high-throughput testing facilities set up in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata will help in further ramping up India's testing capacity and will help in strengthening early detection and treatment, the Prime Minister said via his official Twitter handle.

These three testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida; ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai; and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. They can test a total of 10,000 samples in a day.

"These labs will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The labs are enabled to test diseases other than COVID as well, and post the pandemic, will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Neisseria, Dengue, etc.," the statement said.

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Science & Technology, along with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will be participating in the event.

As coronavirus cases continue to rise in India, the government has also ramped up infrastructure to boost testing. The latest data suggests India's COVID-19 tally has now reached 13,85,522, including 4,67,882 active cases, 8,85,577 recoveries and 32,063 deaths.

India is the third highest-affected country in the world behind the US and Brazil. The US has recorded more than 41 lakh cases of COVID-19, while Brazil has recorded over 23 lakh cases. As India continues to speed up its testing, the number of coronavirus cases in the country are likely to continue increasing.

However, there is also some good news -- the recovery rate has improved and the fatality rate has seen a dip. The ICMR said the recovery rate has improved to 63.54 per cent, while the fatality rate has dipped to 2.35 per cent.

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