State has 5 testing labs for Covid-19, highest in country

Karnataka has the highest number of Covid-19 testing centres in the country.

According to the list of testing centres released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), out of the 52 Covid-19 testing centres across India, Karnataka has the highest number at five.

As per the report, the state has five Covid-19 testing centres, including two laboratories in Bengaluru. The other labs are based out of Mysuru, Hassan and Shivamogga. In Bengaluru, the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMC&RI) and the field unit of the National Institute of Virology have the facility for testing Covid-19 samples.

There are also testing centres at the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences and Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences for Covid-19 cases. Maharashtra, which has reported the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases, has only two testing centres. Rajasthan has four testing centres.

After a spurt in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in Maharashtra, more laboratories have been identified to help collection of samples for Covid-19. As per the ICMR report, Maharashtra has seven laboratories to assist in the collection of samples. Similarly, Tamil Nadu has seven accredited laboratories for collection of samples.

Karnataka, contrary to the high number of testing laboratories, has only two sample collection centres — Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari and Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga.