Jharkhand’s health department has woken up to the importance of scaling up the testing capacity for novel coronavirus with positive cases touching 114 in India and neighbouring Odisha reporting its first positive case on Monday.

As of now, the Union health ministry has notified 52 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) viral research diagnostic laboratories (VRDL) across the country for sample testing of novel coronavirus. In Jharkhand, there is only one — MGM Medical College in Jamshedpur — for now, but RIMS, Ranchi, will soon be another.

The state, however, does not have a single positive coronavirus case reported so far.

State epidemiologist Dr Praveen Kumar Karn told The Telegraph that so far the VRDL facility under the microbiology unit of MGM Medical College at Dimna in Jamshedpur has the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) machine for influenza viral testing method used to confirm Covid-19.

“So MGM Dimna is the only testing centre for Covid-19 in Jharkhand currently. However, we will have RT-PCR machine this week at RIMS in Ranchi too. The order has been passed and the device will be installed in a day or two,” said Karn.

The state health department has also started training lab technicians to collect throat and nose swabs and use VTM (viral transport media). “We have trained lab technicians to use the VTMs for collection of throat and nose swabs and will send VTMs to all 24 districts so that samples can be collected and transported to either MGM Medical College or RIMS in Ranchi for tests, whichever is nearest,' said Dr Karn.

Right now, the VRDL facility at MGM Medical College can efficiently conduct viral test using the RT-PCR technique for 40 samples daily.

Piyalee Gupta, head of microbiology unit at MGM Medical College, said it was a complex process. “It gives results in 24 hours as we have to send the report to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and after ratification of the report we will release it to the state health department,” Gupta said. She added that so far they had collected seven samples, all of which tested negative. “All the 52 notified labs have the facility to carry out daily video-conferences. If there’s a crisis, coordination won’t be a problem (to meet the rush of testing).”

Principal secretary health department Nitin Madan Kulkarni said they were following the protocols laid out by ICMR and health ministry.

CAA protests off

Jamshedpur: The ongoing satyagraha against the new citizenship matrix organised by the All India Minority Social Welfare Front at Gandhi Maidan, Mango, scheduled to go on till March 22, was called off on Monday after the administration’s order in view of the novel coronavirus scare.