To further ramp up Covid testing capacity in the state, the Punjab Government will procure seven automatic RNA extraction machines for the viral testing labs at three Government Medical Colleges in Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot, in addition to four more for the newly set-up viral testing labs in Mohali, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
The Punjab Cabinet, which met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, gave the go-ahead for the procurement of these machines within next 3-4 weeks, amid increasing cases of Covid in the state. The move is aimed at controlling the spread of the pandemic through increased testing by augmenting the state’s fight under Mission Fateh.
The expenditure on these machines and test kits would be incurred from the State Disaster Response Fund, and the entire procurement process would be handled by the Vice Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.
The Department of Medical Education & Research had established two viral testing labs in March 2020 itself at Government Medical Colleges Patiala and Amritsar. Thereafter, in April 2020, the third viral testing lab was set up in Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot.