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Punjab government Wednesday said that it has ramped up its COVID-19 testing capability by 10 times with the procurement of 5 RTPCR and 4 RNA extraction machines (with automation) at a cost of Rs. 2.31 crores, and is also preparing to launch rapid testing from April 10 to check the spread of contagion.
While 10 lakh Rapid Testing Kits, already ordered from ICMR, are awaited, the state government has also floated an open market inquiry for 10000 kits, according to Additional Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan.
With the new equipment, the testing capacity of the Viral Research Diagnostic Labs (VRDL) in Government Medical Colleges at Patiala and Amritsar has gone up to 400 each from the existing 40, said Mahajan, adding that together these two labs have so far tested 1958 samples.
In addition, the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College & Hospital, Faridkot, has been put on fast-track for testing approval. It will have initial capacity of 40 tests per day. The state government has also sought urgent approvals from the Centre for allowing similar testing facilities at DMC and CMC Ludhiana. Apart from state’s own labs, PGI Chandigarh has also been carrying out about 40 tests daily of samples from Punjab.
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