The Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals here, the only private facility in the state to get approval for COVID-19 tests, said on Friday that they were awaiting test kits and would start conducting medical examinations for the coronavirus as soon as those arrive.
So far, samples from across West Bengal were being tested for the COVID-19 at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) and the Institute of Post- Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), both state- run facilities.
After getting permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct the tests, we have ordered the kits from Mylabs Science. Once we get the kits, we will start conducting the tests, said Shyamasis Bandyopadhyay, the director of medical services at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.
Five other private hospitals from the city had also applied to ICMR for approval for conducting such tests.
Once the private laboratories start carrying out tests, it will take off the pressure from the government-run laboratories, a senior health department official said.
The ICMR has till date permitted 29 private laboratories across eight states in the country for conducting tests for COVID-19.
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