• Private laboratory readied by JSS awaits approval
• More labs to encourage voluntary testing 

Mysore/Mysuru: To encourage people to get voluntarily get tested for COVID-19, Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) symptoms, the Mysuru District Administration is opening many swab-collection centres across Mysuru. This apart an exclusive private testing laboratory will come up in Mysuru where people can undergo tests. 

In a message to Star of Mysore this morning, Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar said that JSS Group has come up with a modern and well-equipped laboratory to test Coronavirus patients. “JSS is awaiting a nod from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) as NABL has the authority to approve private labs. Once operational, people have to pay and get tested there,” the DC said. 

The NABL approval is mandatory as sample collection, diagnosis and testing require trained staff and expertise otherwise it may lead to incorrect diagnosis in a pandemic situation like this. 

The trauma of being diagnosed with COVID is leading people to refrain from getting tested. Also, many people are not willing to get tested at the COVID hospital because they fear getting infected there as testing is free there. 

“Apart from the existing Fever Clinics, we are opening many swab collection centres across the city to encourage people to get voluntarily tested in case they have symptoms or have a travel history,” the DC said and added that the administration has taken this step to decentralise the testing centres, to test more people. 

According to mental health experts, issues like anxiety and depression had witnessed a sharp rise in the last three months. The most common problem patients are complaining of is that they are depressed and anxious. Even if they have a minor cough, they become worried that they may have contracted COVID-19 and they refrain from get themselves tested for fear of being whisked away to quarantine centres. 

Till now, only the state-of-the-art Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) at the Department of Microbiology in Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (K.R. Hospital) has been authorised to test COVID-19 samples. The VRDL is an integral part of the Medical College. It is a centralised laboratory where all the COVID-19 cases in the region are tested. 

On the present testing front, Abhiram Sankar said that every day, over 600 samples are tested at the VRDL lab and also at the state-of-the-art “PARAKH- a Mobile Microbial Containment (BSL-3) Laboratory developed by Defence Food Research Laboratory which has been stationed at the K.R. Hospital premises. Till yesterday (June 22), 16,881 samples have been tested and of them, 16,711 samples have been found negative.