T.N. places order for 4.5 lakh RT-PCR testing kits

State has one lakh kits in stock

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 testing figures have been on the rise in the last few weeks. The State currently has a stock of one lakh RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing kits in its hospitals and has placed an order for 4.5 lakh more, according to officials of the Health Department.

The number of samples being tested has increased, with the number of samples being tested in a day crossing 9,000 in the last two days. In Chennai alone, over 3,000 samples are being tested a day.

Phased arrival

The State has so far tested 1,29,363 samples. “We have placed orders for 4.5 lakh more kits, and the order is expected to arrive in a phased manner. Of this, two lakh is expected on Monday,” an official of the Health department said.

“One kit, with a PCR probe and RNA extraction tool, is for one RT-PCR test,” he said. An official said that the Chennai Corporation was planning to scale up testing in the coming days.