HYDERABAD: In a major fillip to COVID-19 testing in Telangana, Health Minister Eatala Rajender launched 20 mobile testing buses in Hyderabad. Each Volvo bus has 10 counters for RTPCR tests and will visit COVID-19 affected areas. These buses will have ambulances attached to them so that any patient who is seriously ill can be administered oxygen or be shifted to a hospital immediately.
The ambulances have i-MASQ (Intelligence Monitoring Analysis Service Quarantine) technology and also a small ICU with ventilator. Four beds with oxygen supply will also be available and if need be, the patient can be shifted in the Volvo bus itself.
The tests to be conducted in these are RTPCR, by 10 technicians. The buses will go to areas where COVID-19 cases are high like containment zones to avoid movement of people and test them where they are.
“These buses will be attached with an ambulance which will have real-time data on the bed availability in hospitals so that patients can be taken in the golden hour of saving lives,” explained the Minister, adding that the tests conducted by these buses will further the 15k capacity of tests. Presently most of the UPHCs in rural and urban areas are using RAT kits for testing COVID-19 suspects.
“These interventions will help us reduce mortality further as we can take patients in time. All government hospitals are also making use of Remdesivir injections to save lives,” added the minister.