Kerala received the first batch of 1000 RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing kits, manufactured by Pune-based MyLab, which will help the state's health department in getting faster results for swab samples of Covid-19 patients. MyLab Discovery and Solutions Pvt Ltd, the molecular diagnostic firm based in Pune, is the first one in India to develop a diagnostic kit for coronavirus and got the approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Apart from MyLab, the kits manufactured by Altona Diagnostics have also been recommended by the ICMR. The testing kits of both firms were found to have 100% concordance among true positive and true negative samples, the ICMR said in a release on March 23. The first batch of RT-PCR testing kits that reached Kerala was ordered by Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor by allocating Rs 57 lakhs from his MPLADS funds. The kits, flown in from Mumbai to Kozhikode by a SpiceJet cargo flight and then delivered to Thiruvananthapuram by road, were formally handed over to the chief minister by the MP's representative. A second batch of 2,000 testing kits have been procured and will arrive in the state Sunday, said a source close to the MP. At his daily press briefing in the state capital, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the RT-PCR kits will help in getting faster results for samples of Covid-19. Using the kits, results can be availed in two-and-a-half hours as opposed to the six to seven hours that it currently takes. The chief minister thanked the MP for his initiative. According to sources, the first batch of RT-PCR kits will be used in Thiruvananthapuram district, one of the national hotspots for coronavirus, especially among those suspected to have come in contact with a 68-year-old man from Pothenkodu who died on Sunday. While all others who have tested positive for the virus in the state have either a history of foreign travel or contact with an infected person, health department officials have not been able to pin-point the source of infection of the deceased from Pothekodu. His family members are already under quarantine. Here’s a quick Coronavirus guide from Express Explained to keep you updated: What can cause a COVID-19 patient to relapse after recovery? | COVID-19 lockdown has cleaned up the air, but this may not be good news. Here’s why | Can alternative medicine work against the coronavirus? | A five-minute test for COVID-19 has been readied, India may get it too | How India is building up defence during lockdown | Why only a fraction of those with coronavirus suffer acutely | How do healthcare workers protect themselves from getting infected? | What does it take to set up isolation wards?
