VISAKHAPATNAM: A rapid testing lab will soon be set up at the Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases in the city. The lab will start functioning at C-DST lab in the hospital. Screening tests will be done for Covid-19 suspects at the lab as soon as they are identified and results will be known within one hour. As rapid tests confirm almost 70 to 80 per cent with regard to positive cases, those who test negative will be advised home quarantine.
If anyone tests positive, their swabs will be sent to King George Hospital (KGH) for further confirmation. While normal Covid-19 test results take a minimum of 5 to 6 hours, the rapid test results will be known within one hour. As 120 tests can be done on a single day, there will not be much waiting time for the lab test.
This will ensure speedy follow up action with regard to corona cases. As many as 22 technical personnel have been posted for the lab. King George Hospital Superintendent G Arjuna said, “Corona testing lab at KGH is now fully operational. Tests are being done in three shifts with a capacity to test 40 samples in each shift. There will be six technicians and a doctor in each shift. In the first two days, only limited samples were tested. Now, more samples are being tested in the lab.”