New machine tests 1k samples/day

JAMSHEDPUR:Jamshedpur on Friday acquired an RNX-96 test machine for increasing the volume of tests to at least 1000 samples a day, hours after the district had the highest single day surge of 45 Covid-19 patients on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the district administration also ordered immediate lodging of FIRs against those violating quarantine rules and Covid-19 protocol.

“This is a great achievement for the district to have a Covid-19 testing machine which is capable of testing 1000 samples a day. This will help us arrest the spread of infection and treat the affected persons at the earliest. I have also ordered all the incident commanders to promptly lodge FIRs against people violating quarantine rules and Covid-19 protocol by not wearing masks, loitering outside their homes, not using sanitizers and washing hands with soaps frequently, not adhering to social distancing norms etc.,” Ravishankar Shukla, Jamshedpur DC, said.

FIRs will be lodged under Section 188 of DM Act and relevant sections of the Epidemic Act.

The RNX-96 machine was handed over on Friday evening to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) virology laboratory.