The Microbiology Department of the Government Medical College at Kurnool on Sunday got a new large Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) that has a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing machine, which has immensely boosted the capacity to do confirmatory tests for COVID-19 in the district.
Medical College principal P. Chandrashekar, at the formal inauguration of the laboratory, said that this was the third such government laboratory while another one was in the private sector. With this the RT-PCR testing capacity in the district has got enhanced to between 1,500 and 2,000 per day, he said. A national virology laboratory would also be set up in the microbiology department very soon, he added.
District Collector G. Veerapandian, who visited the laboratory later, said that 64,500 COVID-19 tests were done so far in the district and it was among the top districts in the State. There were TrueNAT testing machines functioning at Banaganapalle, Adoni and Nandyal. In all, 29,000 tests were done on the RT-PCR machines and 12,900 on Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) machines in the district, he added.
