Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three high throughput Covid-19 testing facilities on Monday. The labs are aimed at ramping up coronavirus testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, thus assisting in controlling the spread of the pandemic.

These three high-throughput testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida; ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai; and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day, a government statement said.

These labs will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The labs are enabled to test diseases other than Covid as well, and post the pandemic, will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Neisseria, Dengue, etc, the statement said.

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Science & Technology, along with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh also participated in the event, held via video conferencing.