2 Indore labs to conduct 1200 tests a day

INDORE: Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College authority has begun installation of a new automated machine and biosafety cabinet in virology laboratory to increase its testing capacity.
The laboratory has been testing 650 to 700 samples per day for the last couple of days. After installation of this new machine, the testing capacity will go well above 1000. The installation process will get completed within two to three days, MGM dean Dr Jyoti Bindal said.
Virology laboratory has load of testing samples of not only Indore - the Corona hotspot- but also adjoining districts of Indore and Ujjain divisions.
The laboratory has been receiving over 1000 samples per day only from Indore. On May 7 and 8, the authority sent around 1500 samples for testing to private laboratories in Ahmedabad due to high influx of samples, an official source said.
On Saturday, the Central Laboratory- a private laboratory approved by ICMR two weeks ago to test Covid-19 samples - received first lot of 150 samples, lab owner Dr Vinita Kothari said. The lab has testing capacity of around 200 samples and 50 samples will be tested on urgent basis received from private hospitals, said Kothari.
With Central Laboratory, now, the testing capacity in city will increase to 1200 samples per day. Kothari added, “We have also ordered one biosafety cabinet and with this our testing capacity will rise to 300 samples per day.”