India gets first automated COVID testing machine, can test over 1200 samples in 24 hours

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday inaugurated the first automated COVID-19 testing machine 'COBAS 6800', procured by the government at the NCDC. Amid the spiking of cases of COVID-19 and the need for large-scale testing 'COBAS 6800' is an automated testing machine which has the capacity to test over 1200 samples in just 24 hours. The machine can also perform real-time PCR testing 

While highlighting its other features, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the COBAS 6800 will be a big aid to the healthcare workers since it minimised the risk of a patient to doctor transmission while sample testing. The machine will reduce the chance of contamination as well as the risk of infection to the health care workers since it can be operated remotely with little-to-no human intervention. COBAS 6800 can also detect other pathogens like viral Hepatitis B and C, HIV, MTb, both rifampicin and isoniazid resistance, Papilloma, CMV, Chlamydia, Neiserreia, etc. 

Read:Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Discuss COVID-19 With Northeast States; Lauds Response

The Union Health Minister also visited the control room and the testing laboratories in the NCDC to review the current status of COVID-19 testing. He was accompanied by Dr S K Singh, Director, NCDC, and senior officials. 

"We have now developed a capacity to conduct 1,00,000 tests per day. Today marks an important milestone as we have tested nearly 20 lakh tests for COVID-19 at more than 500 laboratories including 359 government laboratories and 145 private laboratories in the country," said Harsh Vardhan.

Read: 'COVID-19 Will Be remembered As A Blessing In Disguise': Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan

"Today, there are 14 States/UTs that have not reported any cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours -- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Puducherry, Telangana. Also, Daman & Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep," he added.

The Union Health Ministry has stated that the number of Coronavirus cases in India has increased to 78,003, with the death toll rising to 2,549. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases At 78,003; Govt Rolls Out 9 Measures For Migrants, Farmers

Read: India To Breach 2 Million COVID-19 Tests Per Day Mark On Thursday: Union Health Minister

(With Agency Inputs)