As pending COVID-19 tests results gets almost reduced to nil in Manipur as officials claim, the government is gearing up to open testing facilities to the public on payment.
Director, health directorate, K Rajo told media persons on Saturday that testing facilities will be made available to the public very soon.
Earlier, COVID-19 testing was confined to returnees from outside, contacts of positive persons and people with severe symptoms of the coronavirus. No testing fees were also charged from them.
Rajo said that the tests results will be made available within an hour as the testing is to be done with TrueNat machine.
Responding to the media, deputy director, public health, Dr Meena Seram, who is also one of the in-charge of Management of Testing Laboratories for COVID-19, said that the government is currently preparing the SOPs for availing the testing facilities to the public.
Dr Seram stated that the government will probably charge Rs 2,400 per test. It is also likely that no testing fees will be charge from frontline workers and BPL families, she said.
The health official, however, maintained that the detailed information will be given in the SOPs which is likely to be issued within one or two days.
As told by her, there are altogether nine TrueNat testing machines installed at hospitals and various centres in the state.
Of the nine machines, two machines each installed at District Hospital Senapati and IRL-State TB Office, Lamphel and a machine at RIMS have the capacity to conduct two tests in 45 minutes to one hour. Another at RIMS and one each at JNIMS, Ukhrul and Tamenglong can conduct one test each in 45 minutes to one hour, Dr Meena added.
