For strengthening the coronavirus screening capacity of Chhattisgarh, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday asked Union health minister to authorize the microbiology department of Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in Raipur for setting up Covid-19 testing facility.
In a letter to the Union health and family welfare minster Dr Harsh Vardhan, the chief minister urged him to increase the number of coronavirus testing centres in Chhattisgarh.
“The microbiology department of the Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, should be authorized for coronavirus testing. Here all facilities required for testing coronavirus are available,” he said.
The chief minister in the letter said that the Centre has declared the novel coronavirus as a national calamity and the Chhattisgarh government has declared it to be an epidemic across the state.
To prevent the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, and strict monitoring is being done at the community-level and patients diagnosed with the infectious disease are being provided thorough medical treatment, the CM said.
CM Baghel said that at present, there are only two testing centers in Chhattisgarh—one at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Raipur, and the second at Baliram Kashyap Memorial Government Medical College, Jagdalpur.
In view of the current critical circumstances, it is need of the hour to authorize more coronavirus testing centers in the state, so that the suspects may get tested soon and the patients so found can be provided medical treatment immediately, he said.
Besides, state health secretary had on March 24, requested the director general ICMR, Delhi, to authorize the two hospitals for corona testing facilities, but no response has been received until now, the CM said.