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PM launches High Throughput COVID testing facilities at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida

Published By : Admin | July 27, 2020 | 16:54 IST
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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched three high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities via video conferencing today. These facilities are located at the National Institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research, at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida.

Prime Minister said that these hi-tech state-of-the-art testing facilities will boost the testing capacity by almost 10,000 daily tests in each of the three cities. More number of tests will assist early detection and treatment, thereby helping fight the spread of the virus. He added that these labs will not be limited to testing for COVID, but in future, will also be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Dengue and several other diseases.

Timely decisions

Prime Minister underlined that due to timely decisions taken by the government, India is better placed vis-a-vis other countries in terms of deaths due to COVID. The recovery rate is also higher than other countries and is improving on a daily basis. The total number of people who have recovered from the virus is about to reach 10 lakh.

Corona specific health infrastructure

Prime Minister said that it was imperative for the country to develop corona specific health infrastructure at a fast pace. He noted that the Centre had announced a package of Rs 15,000 crore at the beginning of this battle. The country now has more than 11,000 COVID facilities and more than 11 lakh isolation beds.

While the country had only one COVID testing centre in January, there are almost 1300 such labs now. He said that at present, more than 5 lakh tests are being conducted in the country daily, and efforts are underway to increase this capacity to 10 lakh in the coming weeks.

He noted that the country has become the second largest PPE kit manufacturer. The country has progressed from not having even a single PPE kit manufacturer as recently as six months ago, to having more than 1200 manufacturers now, who are producing more than 5 lakh such kits daily. He also highlighted that from being dependent on imports, now more than 3 lakh N-95 masks are being produced in the country daily, annual production capacity of ventilators has become 3 lakh and there has also been a significant increase in the production of medical oxygen cylinders. This has not only helped save lives but has also converted India from an importer to an exporter.

Talking about efforts to contain the spread in rural areas, Prime Minister mentioned the need to develop new health infrastructure as well as boost the already existing health infrastructure facilities in the villages.

Ramping up human resource

Prime Minister said that apart from developing the physical infrastructure, the country has also managed to swiftly ramp up human resources including paramedics, ASHA workers, Anganwadis etc, who have played a significant part in controlling the spread of the pandemic. He also spoke about the need to work on continuously attaching new and retired health professionals with the health system in order to prevent fatigue from setting in our corona warriors.

Being safe during festivities

He forewarned people to be cautious during the celebrations of the festivals to come, in order to keep the virus contained. He underlined that the benefits of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna should reach the poor timely. He added that till the time a vaccine is not developed, do gaz doori, wearing masks and hand sanitization are the tools at the disposal of the people to keep them safe.

Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that labs to test for COVID are now available all across the country. He also spoke about the Union Home Minister working along with Delhi Chief Minister in order to control the spread of the virus in the national capital.

Chief Ministers speak

The Chief Ministers thanked the Prime Minister for the launch of the testing facilities. Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray praised the leadership of the Prime Minister in the tough circumstances. He spoke about the ‘chase the virus’ initiative in Mumbai and also discussed establishing permanent infection hospitals.

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee appreciated the cooperative attitude of the Prime Minister towards the States, spoke about efforts to track cases, use of tele-medicine and also about the need to ramp up facilities in some of the existing labs in the State.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister for his untiring efforts in this fight against the virus. He said that these labs launched today will dramatically reduce testing time. He mentioned about ramping up testing ability in the State and the plan to increase the number of daily antigen tests.

Background

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. 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.

 

 

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PM Modi addresses the Parliament of Guyana
November 21, 2024


Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana today. He is the first Indian Prime Minister to do so. A special session of the Parliament was convened by Hon’ble Speaker Mr. Manzoor Nadir for the address.

In his address, Prime Minister recalled the longstanding historical ties between India and Guyana. He thanked the Guyanese people for the highest Honor of the country bestowed on him. He noted that in spite of the geographical distance between India and Guyana, shared heritage and democracy brought the two nations close together. Underlining the shared democratic ethos and common human-centric approach of the two countries, he noted that these values helped them to progress on an inclusive path.

Prime Minister noted that India’s mantra of ‘Humanity First’ inspires it to amplify the voice of the Global South, including at the recent G-20 Summit in Brazil. India, he further noted, wants to serve humanity as VIshwabandhu, a friend to the world, and this seminal thought has shaped its approach towards the global community where it gives equal importance to all nations-big or small.

Prime Minister called for giving primacy to women-led development to bring greater global progress and prosperity. He urged for greater exchanges between the two countries in the field of education and innovation so that the potential of the youth could be fully realized. Conveying India’s steadfast support to the Caribbean region, he thanked President Ali for hosting the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit. Underscoring India’s deep commitment to further strengthening India-Guyana historical ties, he stated that Guyana could become the bridge of opportunities between India and the Latin American continent. He concluded his address by quoting the great son of Guyana Mr. Chhedi Jagan who had said, "We have to learn from the past and improve our present and prepare a strong foundation for the future.” He invited Guyanese Parliamentarians to visit India.

Full address of Prime Minister may be seen here.