Ariyalur GH gets COVID-19 testing lab

A COVID-19 testing laboratory established at the Ariyalur Government Hospital has got approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The new facility will be of great help for residents of the district as results of the tests would be obtained within a day. The ICMR nod has come at a time when the district has witnessed a sudden spurt in the number of COVID-19 patients with an influx of workers from Koyambedu in Chennai.

Collector D. Rathna said that the laboratory could analyse 200 swab and blood samples a day and has already started functioning. Earlier, blood samples of suspected COVID-19 patients were being sent to Chennai, Tiruchi or Tiruvarur for tests. With the laboratory set up at the Government Hospital, the health authorities could get the results on the day itself. It would enable the doctors to begin the treatment as quickly as possible, Mrs. Rathna said.