In its battle against the novel coronavirus, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has started its own testing lab, which can conduct 1,000 tests per day.
The lab will give provide results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCMR) tests within 24 hours.
NMMC plans to use the lab to conduct tests for other diseases like HIV, swine flue among others after the COVID-19 outbreak ends.
The facility has started at NMMC's Masaheb Meenatai Thackeray Hospital in Nerul. The centre has been set up within 15 days. The work at the centre started on July 4.
Currently, 2500 antigen tests are being performed daily from 22 antigen testing centres within NMMC limits. This fully automated lab with the capacity to perform 1000 RT-PCR tests a day will speed up the testing of COVID-19 in Navi Mumbai.
In addition to this, to deal with the shortage of ventilators and ICU beds, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and Dr D Y Patil hospital recently signed an agreement to make available 200 ICU beds and 80 ventilators at the D Y Patil Hospital, Nerul.
