Amit Shah inaugurates mobile COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab in Delhi; in pics

New Delhi: The Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday (November 23, 2020) inaugurated a mobile COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi which has been jointly launched by SpiceHealth and the ICMR. 

"Modi government is committed to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Delhi. This lab will surely help in early detection and cure," said Amit Shah.

The test report would be available within 6 to 8 hours from the time of sample collection compared to the average 24 to 48 hours taken by similar test reports. The lab is accredited by NABL and approved by the ICMR.  

The RT-PCR tests will be offered at Rs 499 and the cost of testing will be borne by the ICMR. The initiative is a step in making COVID-19 testing affordable and more accessible to the common person.

The people of Delhi will not have to bear any cost.

"To begin with, the first testing facility has been set up in Delhi. More such testing facilities will come up in different parts of the national capital over the coming days," said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

SpiceHealth has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ICMR for setting up testing facilities (laboratories) and collection centres across the country. 

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Harsh Vardhan also participated in the inauguration function. The Secretary DHR and Director General of the ICMR, Balram Bhargava, the Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, Ajay Singh and the CEO of SpiceHealth, Avani Singh also took part in the inauguration ceremony.

The MHA stated that it is planned to set up 10 labs in the first phase and at the outset, each lab would be able to test up to 1,000 samples per day and testing would slowly be ramped up to 3,000 samples per day per lab.

"Today is a momentous day for all of us at SpiceHealth as we take this crucial step towards ensuring affordable COVID-19 testing to as many Indians as possible. Despite being the world's second most affected country by coronavirus, with over 9 million reported cases so far, India has found it challenging to scale up RT-PCR testing for the virus. We are proud to be able to contribute to our country's efforts to fight this global pandemic," Avani Singh, CEO, SpiceHealth said.