State govt to utilise unused RTPCR machines to ramp up swab tests

Kolkata: In a bid to provide further impetus to the swab testing mechanism, the Bengal government is keen on utilising the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test machines, lying unused at various universities and colleges across the state, which can be used for COVID-19 detection.

The Chief Minister constituted expert committee for the COVID-19 has made recommendation to the government that the RTPCR machines can be utilised at the present moment, so that more swab tests can be done in the state.

The state government has already set up 14 operational testing laboratories across the state and also sought permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for setting up 16 more labs. The staff members at various labs have already started working in double shifts following the order of the state government. To cope with any possible situation in the future, the state health department is eager to conduct more tests.

The state government may soon ask the authorities of both the government-run universities and the private ones to provide their RTPCR machines to the health department. The health department will make the final decision on the installation of the machines at the nearby medical colleges or hospitals and also check if the machines can be used before transporting them from one place to another. Once the crisis is over, the machines will be returned to the university authorities after proper sanitisation.

One of the main objectives of the move is to ensure more tests at the district levels. A senior health department official said, "It is in the initial stage. It will be determined as to which universities have such machines, which can be used. The machines will be available, where microbiology is taught. The state government will take the final decision. Procuring new machines is a lengthy process hence it would be better to utilise the machines of the universities.