PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Dec 29: The most awaited genome sequencing machine will be installed at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) by the end of January 2022 as the order has been placed for the machine.
Additional Chief Secretary of Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Arun Kumar Singh said that an order has been placed for the procurement of the genome sequencing machine.
Notably, the plan to procure the machine has been in the offing for a long but was delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles. Since the past month, all samples of suspected Omicron cases have been sent to a lab in Bhubaneswar for testing but no reports have been received, so far.
An official of the department said, “Under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, equipment procured by a research institute are exempted from duty and RIMS being a medical research institute, the machine bought by it and installed on its premises will ultimately benefit the state. If the state buys it, the customs duty will be burdensome.”
State epidemiologist posted with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), Dr Praveen Kumar Karn, said, “The state government is working to improve the health facilities amid the rise in Covid cases and preparing for any possible third wave. Procuring the genome sequencing machine within the next two to three weeks to identify the Omicron strain is part of this policy,”
Currently, the state has eight RT-PCR testing labs apart from TruNat Machines in all 24 districts along with Rapid Antigen Test kits. The government has also purchased two COBAS 6800 machines, a fully automated high-end machine to perform RT-PCR tests on bulk samples. The machine can test 1200 samples in 24 hours and the government is planning to launch the machines within a few months.
