Medical tests for media persons for SARS-CoV-2 infection which began at the hi-tech hospital of the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Hubballi on Monday concluded on Tuesday with over 150 media persons getting themselves screened.
The two-day screening camp and sample-taking was organised jointly by KIMS, the Department of Information and Public Relations and the Department of Health and Family Welfare considering the risk being faced by media persons on account of the nature of their work.
Throat and nose swabs of several media persons were collected on the first day after media persons arrived at the scheduled time allotted to different media houses and publications. According to the authorities, a total of 152 media persons have undergone the tests and the test results are likely to arrive in a couple of days.
On Monday, after the camp began, Director of KIMS Ramalingappa Antaratani had said that after a virology laboratory was set up at KIMS, testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection began on April 8 and on an average, samples were being collected from 200 to 300 persons per day.
Following a direction from the State government for conducting tests on media persons, samples were being collected from them. And, over 1,800 persons had been subjected to tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection at the KIMS laboratory so far, he said.
Dr. Ramalingappa Antaratani said that apart from the primary and secondary contacts of positive patients referred to KIMS tests, patients with COVID-19-like symptoms who come to KIMS Hospital were also being screened for the infection.
Senior Assistant Director of the Department of Information and Public Relations Manjunath Dollin said that following a direction from the Chief Minister, media persons were being screened for the infection as a precautionary measure. Already, 60 media persons were subjected to tests in Dharwad two days ago and all had tested negative for the infection. KIMS Medial Superintendent Arunkumar Chouhan, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Yashawanth Madeenkar and a doctor Lakshmikanth and others were present.
