Agra's SNMC to start Covid-19 test facility

AGRA: After the state government's and Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) nod, the city's Sarojini Naidu Medical College (SNMC) will start a facility for testing of Covid-19 suspected cases. The microbiology department of SNMC is making all necessary arrangements to start sample testing from Monday.


Head of the department (microbiology) Dr Aarti Agarwal said, “Initially blood, throat and nasal samples of 45 to 50 suspected Covid-19 cases will be tested on a daily basis. In the next 10 days, the lab's capacity will be increased to 100. We have made all the necessary arrangements for tests."

At present, test samples are being sent to King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow via a special vehicle. And, often, final reports of samples get delayed by over 24 hours.

So far, 89 Covid-19 cases have been found in Agra district - the highest in Uttar Pradesh. The district administration has ordered massive sampling of contacts of the infected people.

“The Covid-19 testing facility at SNMC will start functioning from Monday. The first trial run of the facility at the SNMC's microbiology lab will take place on Saturday. A team of 11 health staffers led by Dr Aarti Agarwal will run the facility. Soon, we will receive lab reports within a few hours. This will boost our efforts to prevent spread of Covid-19 cases," Prabhu N Singh, the district magistrate, said on Friday.