You may get your Covid test result in Karnataka within 7 hours soon

Narayan also said that measures would be taken to conduct blood tests of those in home isolation

With Covid-19 test results notorious for delays, the Karnataka government will ensure that they are available within seven hours, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, the Covid-19 Task Force chairperson, said on Wednesday.

According to Narayan, Covid-19 test results are delivered within seven hours at the KC General Hospital in Malleswaram, his constituency. "This will be expanded to the entire state," he said.

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"Earlier it used to take 72 hours to get results after samples reached the laboratory. Faster results will enable early detection of the infection and commencement of treatment," he said.

Narayan, in a statement, also said that measures would be taken to conduct blood tests of those in home isolation. The blood test will help to know the condition of the infected patient and find out inflammatory markers, he said.

Even as the state is struggling to meet oxygen requirements, the minister said that the Centre had been requested to allow Karnataka to utilise all the oxygen produced in the state.

Currently, there is supply of 850 MT of oxygen to the state. If the demand for oxygen increases further, arrangements will be done to get it from other states or from other countries," he stated.

As for the antiviral remdesivir, until now the supply was limited to 10,000 vials per day. This will be increased to 20,000 vials per day for the next five days. To curb any black marketing of the drug, the names of the patients for whom it is administered will be recorded and made public to ensure transparency, he said.