COVID-19 in Bengal: govt applies for more labs to conduct tests, increase number in coming days

West Bengal government has applied for more centres for conducting COVID-19 tests in some more medical colleges and hospitals (MCH) in the state. These include RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Medical College & Hospitals at Burdwan, Bankura and Purulia. Malda Medical College and Hospital will start testing for COVID-19 from Sunday, Sinha said. It has a capacity of doing 50 tests per day.

Currently, tests are conducted at NICED, SSKM, Midnapore Medical College & Hospital, North Bengal Medical College & Hospital, School of Tropical Medicine, Apollo Hospital, Tata Medical Centre, Peerless Hospital and Suraksha.

Sinha said that no laboratory in the state, including the big ones, have the capacity of conducting more than 100 tests for COVID-19 per day. The government is applying for more laboratories to be allowed for testing COVID-19 as it will help to reduce the time taken to transport the samples from far off places.

The chief secretary said that to increase the number of tests, the government will ask healthcare personnel in state-run hospitals to work in double shifts.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state at present is 178. The state will start rapid testing for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the hotspots as soon as it receives the necessary kits from the Centre. The government hasn’t received any such kits yet, he added.

West Bengal has been lagging behind other states in conducting tests, and had conducted the lowest number of tests among the bigger states last week.