New Delhi. 24 April 2020. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated the first COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab of the country namely “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab” to the nation through video conference.
This Lab has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India in collaboration with ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar (Hyderabad) with due permission of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Govt. of Telangana.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister appreciated the efforts of DRDO and ESIC in setting up of this Bio-Safety Level 2 and Level 3 lab in a record time of 15 days which usually takes about six months time. He further said this testing facility can process more than 1,000 samples in a day and will enhance country’s capabilities in fighting COVID-19.
COVID-19 testing centreat ESIC Medical & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad will utilize this new innovative mobile diagnostic and research facility called “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab”. It will be first of its kind facility in the country for Covid-19 and other related testing and research purposes.
The design of Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab has been developed by DRDO scientists whereas specification of the lab has been given by ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad. The project has been executed and constructed by three industry partners of DRDO.
Other innovative technologies developed by DRDO and shared with ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad comprise of COVSACK unit for sample collection, aerosol boxes and aerosolized sanitizer dispenser, snorkel face masks and face shields as reusable PPE N-95 equivalent, UV-C disinfection chamber in the fight against Covid-19 for use by the hospital.
ESIC Medical Collage and hospital, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad is a 500 bedded hospital. In addition to that 150 beds are also available in the hospital for super-speciality treatment like oncology, nephrology, neuro surgery, cardiology, pediatric surgery etc. so that ESI beneficiaries get the best of treatment under one roof.
In this crisis situation, 13 ESIC Hospitals with 1861 Isolation Beds across India have been converted into Dedicated Covid-19 Hospitals. In addition to above Hospitals, around 1011 Isolation Beds have been made available in most of the remaining ESIC Hospitals across the country. Further, a total of 555 ICU/HDU Beds with 197 Ventilators have also been made available in these Hospitals. Quarantine facility (total 1254 Beds) has been made functional in 04 ESIC Hospitals at Alwar (Rajasthan), Bihta, Patna (Bihar), Gulbarga (Karnataka) and Korba (Chhattisgarh). Besides, Covid-19 testing facility has been made available at ESIC Hospital, Faridabad (Haryana).
