AGARTALA, March 27 - As Tripura gears up to fight against novel coronavirus, an additional real-time PCR machine, which is exclusively used for swab tests for COVID-19, has been procured for the GBP Hospital, the State�s principal referral hospital, at a cost of Rs 18 lakh. It will be installed shortly.
�The machine was brought to the GBP Hospital today and hopefully, it will be operation within the shortest period of time,� said Tripura Health Secretary Dr Debasish Basu at a press conference at the Civil Secretariat here.
Currently, a real-time PCR machine is installed at the GBP Hospital and the new one will enhance the capacity of the State�s premier hospital. Once the machine is made operational, 300 swabs can be tested at a time at the hospital.
Dr Basu also stated that the chopper that flied to Kolkata via Guwahati to bring a consignment of medical kits and medicines arrived today. �We are better prepared with the arrival of the new consignment comprising masks, gloves and other kits,� he said.
According to the Health Secretary, as many as 4,235 persons have been placed under surveillance � most of them with foreign or domestic travel history. �So far, the swabs of 57 persons were tested for COVID-19 and all of them came out clean. This is a good sign,� said Dr Tapan Majumder, microbiologist of the GBP Hospital.
Dr Majumder exhorted the people to go for handwashing with soap once in every one or two hours to keep the virus at bay. �There is no need to wear masks as they may cause other health complications. Frequent handwashing and social distancing are the main tools to evade the novel coronavirus pandemic,� he said.
Dr Majumder said the GBP Hospital has a 12-bed ICU to treat COVID-19 patients. Besides, there is an isolation ward adjacent to the ICU.
