Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Centre has allotted five genome sequencing machines to Madhya Pradesh, where no case of Omicron, a new variant of coronavirus, has been detected so far, state minister Vishwas Sarang said on Friday.
The allotment has come a day after the state medical education minister met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Delhi.
"The five machines will be installed at Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Gwalior cities. At present, the samples collected in Madhya Pradesh are being sent to Delhi for genome sequencing, and it takes over 10 days to get reports," Sarang said.
These machines with help shorten the detection time considerably, he said.
The minister further said that the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has accepted the state government's demand for a special package to ramp up six government medical colleges and funds for the upkeep of nursing colleges in the state.
The Centre has also given a nod for setting up a new super-speciality hospital in Bhopal, he added.
According to the state health department, a total of 7,93,307 cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the state so far, including 10,529 casualties.
