The Central Drug Research Institute here will also begin testing for coronavirus, officials said. (Representational image)

The UP government on Thursday said that till now the state has tested  2,252 samples through 520 pools, out of  which 14 pools have tested positive. The pool testing is being conducted mostly in the hotspots and containment zones.On an average, each pool consists of five samples.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that 3,823 samples were sent to various laboratories of the state on Wednesday for testing and 4,795 samples were tested, which included samples from the backlog. “This shows that while earlier the capacity of testing was almost negligible in the start, now the daily testing capacity has reached almost 5,000. This will be increased further,” said Awasthi.

Meanwhile, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow started testing samples for coronavirus, a senior scientist said.

The research institute is the first central body in Uttar Pradesh to take on the task, Dr Neeraj Rai said.
The institute will test 200 samples every day and will put out test reports every day, he said.

The BSIP has partnered with a private diagnostic firm for taking up sample testing, another official had said earlier. “We have a team of six people who will conduct these tests,” Rai said. “If we pool in the samples, this capacity can go up further. But as of now, we are ready for testing 200 samples,” he said.

The Central Drug Research Institute here will also begin testing for coronavirus, officials said.

—With PTI