Covid-19 tests at Kolkata's School of Tropical Medicine from Monday

KOLKATA: School of Tropical Medicine (STM) Kolkata will start testing Covid-19 samples from Monday. It becomes the third government facility in Kolkata and fifth in Bengal to conduct such tests.
So far only ICMR – NICED and IPGMER are the only two facilities testing Covid-19 samples. The laboratory at STM was designated as the third unit for conducting such tests more than a week ago.But it could not start working before the validation process of the lab by ICMR got completed.
Health department officials said the third laboratory will help them test more samples. Sources said that kits for testing swab samples have arrived at STM. Total kits available with the state now can test nearly 2,700 samples.
At STM, final touches on unfinished work regarding bio-safety issues in the laboratory are being worked out. Sources said the work will take two more days.
“We will start taking samples and run tests from Monday. With the kits that we have received in the first lot, we should be able to run about 800 samples,” said Pradip Kundu, director at STM.
On Thursday, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals Kolkata (AGHK) became the first private laboratory in the state to get the nod from ICMR to test swab samples of Covid-19 suspects. The hospital is waiting for the kits.
SSKM is already testing 20 samples per day now. “Till date, we have tested nearly 120 samples. We have sufficient kits as of now,” said Raghunath Misra, medical superintendent and vice principal of SSKM Hospital.
“The STM laboratory is going to deal with Covid-19 samples that are highly contagious. There are several safety issues. ICMR cannot not allow a lab to run samples unless infrastructure like the bio-safety level of a particular lab and machines complies with certain criteria. This process takes time,” said sources at STM. “The last glitch was the bio-safety concerns and personal protective equipment for the lab team. We will be getting the PPEs by Saturday,” he said.
There has been a sudden surge in the number of samples collected from suspected cases in the past few days. Initially, the number of samples would be just about seven to 10 on a daily average. But about 50 samples are being collected in the last couple of days. Till Thursday, 297 samples had been collected and tested.
The Centre has informed the Bengal government that due to “difficulty in shipping” during the lockdown, the dispatch of Covid-19 test kits for the newly sanctioned testing laboratory at STM, Kolkata was delayed. After the government’s plea, Covid-19 tests can now be conducted at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital and North Bengal Medical College & Hospital. The Centre has sent 200 test kits to each of these facilities. In Midnapore, two tests have already been conducted.