HYDERABAD: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has declared that apart from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, one of Hyderabad’s Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) facilities will be turned into a testing centre for Coronavirus.
Hyderabad is one among the four cities, apart from Alleppey, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, where testing for Coronavirus will be done in their respective ICMR institutes.
Dr K Shankar, superintendent, Government Fever Hospital said, "Most probably, the testing procedure will be started in the ICMR lab at Gandhi Hospital within ten days. The laboratory will be checked, revamped and funds will be issued. There are three existing ICMR facilities in Osmania General Hospital, Gandhi Hospital and one hospital in Warangal."
On Tuesday, Dr Shankar said that in case patients increase, the State is willing to purchase testing kits from the Centre and run tests at the State’s own facilities. Health Minister Eatala Rajender issued a statement saying, “There are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the State. Only suspected patients have been kept in isolation. The public should not panic as the State health department is well- equipped to tackle any possibility of an outbreak.”