BHU Lab to get two more machines for COVID-19 sample testing
UP Minister Neelkanth Tiwari releases Rs 33 lakh from MLA LAD Fund for this purpose
Varanasi: The Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University will soon get two more machines for the testing of suspected COVID-19 samples.
The UP minister of state (independent charge) for tourism, culture, religious work and protocol Dr Neelkanth Tiwari has provided a fund of Rs. 33 lakh from his MLA LAD fund for the purchase of two machines.
Presently the VRDL has only one machine to test the samples coming from 16 districts of eastern UP. The head of microbiology department Prof Gopal Nath said that orders for the two machines had already been placed.
The suspected COVID-19 samples started coming to the laboratory in the beginning of March. Initially the laboratory on an average used to get 4-5 samples per day, but the number has increased in couple of days. There were 25 samples for testing on Tuesday, said Prof Nath.
The fund for the purchase of machines was made available to the district administration on March 20. The district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said that the machines have been dispatched from Bengaluru.
