Rangpur, M’singh to begin testing for Covid-19 soon
Rangpur Medical College has started installing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine, a required component for Covid-19 diagnosis. However, the kits required for testing have not arrived yet.
After everything is set up, individuals residing in eight northern districts of Rangpur division will be able to get tested.
The device, which arrived in Rangpur on Thursday from Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) , is being installed at the microbiology department of RMC. Public Works Department is overseeing the installation.
RMC Principal Dr Nurunnabi Lyzu said the machine will be ready to work in a couple of days. "We hope to start testing from April 1 or 2," he said.
About test kits, the principal said they are yet to receive them, but kits will be sent from Dhaka within a few days.
Meanwhile, IEDCR members collected samples from six more patients of Rangpur Medical College Hospital yesterday.
Dr Amin Ahmed, health director in Rangpur, said three of the individuals returned from abroad, while others were being tested because they came in contact with them. They are showing Covid-19-like symptoms, but nothing can be definitively said until test results come back, he said.
A total of 53 people were put in home isolation in the eight districts during the last 24 hours.
Besides, seven people entered the country from India, and nine others were admitted to different hospitals in the last 24 hours, the director said.
Mymensingh Medical College (MMC) has installed their PCR machine on Saturday, said its Principal Prof Chitta Ranjan Debnath.
Necessary work to ready the laboratory for testing is ongoing. Testing will start from Tuesday, the principal hoped.
A team of experts from IEDCR visited the lab and installed the machine, he said.
Necessary test-kits and equipment, including personal protective equipment, were also handed over to MMC authorities, said the principal.
The laboratory, at MMC's microbiology department, will be supervised by IEDCR. Necessary staff, including doctors and technicians, were trained by the institute.
"We'll be able to deliver test reports within two to three hours after getting samples," Prof Chitta said.
The lab will serve residents of the whole division, said Dr Laxmi Narayan Majumder, deputy director of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.