Kerala sets up kiosks to collect samples

Bengaluru | Hyderabad: Kerala has developed its own inexpensive kiosks for mass collection of samples from people with symptoms for Covid-19.

The kiosk, called walk-in sample kiosk (Wisk), is the first of its kind in India, inspired by similar models deployed in South Korea.

Two such kiosks were set up at the government medical college premises in Ernakulam on Monday.

Each kiosk costs just about Rs 40,000 and takes about two days to set up, officials said. The main advantage of the kiosk is that healthcare professionals can make do with fewer personal protective equipment and collect the samples fast.

A healthcare staff sitting behind a glass wall collects the throat swab from the person on the other side with the help of thick gloves attached to the glass panel, and drops it inside a container.

The person hands the container back to a healthcare staffer before making way for the next person. Before each person is called it, the place is disinfected.

The kiosks also consist of magnetic doors, ultraviolet lights and an exhaust fan.

Telangana deploys Vera’s Covid-19 monitoring App: The Telangana government’s public health and family welfare department has deployed a ‘Covid-19 Monitoring System App’, an automated app developed by healthcare technology startup Vera Smart Healthcare. Vera said that the app helps identify, undertake live surveillance, track, and monitor quarantined people and provide real-time analytics.