Sylhet, Khulna get PCR machines
Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and Khulna Medical College Hospital yesterday received polymerase chain reaction machines that will be used to test for Covid-19.
Dr Himangshu Lal Roy, deputy director of Osmani hospital, said once the machine is installed at the microbiology and virology laboratory and pathologists are trained, the lab will be functional for testing coronavirus.
"It will take another five to seven days to start testing in the lab," he said, adding that all suspected patients in Sylhet will be then tested there, instead of sending samples to IEDCR in Dhaka.
Since the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh, IEDCR was the only authorised organisation to test suspected patients. On March 26, three other labs -- two in Dhaka and one in Chattogram -- started testing.
Medical colleges at Rajshahi and Mymensingh have already received PCR machines.
Meanwhile, Dr ATM Monzur Morshed, director of KMCH, said after installing the PCR machine following necessary procedures, they will be able to conduct tests within a week.
Dr Sailendranath Biswas, focal person of Corona Isolation Unit at KMCH, said using the machine, they will be able to test Covid-19 with samples of throat swabs and blood and provide results within a day.
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