Trying to get ICMR nod for 4 more facilities to test COVID-19 cases: UP health minister

The Uttar Pradesh government is trying to get the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) approval for four institutes in the state to conduct novel coronavirus tests, state Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said on Thursday.

As of now, only the King George Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow has the approval for testing COVID-19 cases, the minister said during a visit to Gautam Buddh Nagar.

"We are working on a war footing to deal with the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak. We have a virology lab in Gorakhpur, and facilities in Aligarh, Banaras Hindu University and PGI (Lucknow)... We are trying to procures machines and get accreditation from the ICMR so that these facilities can conduct for these places," the minister told reporters.

Samples from Gautam Buddh Nagar and some other places in western Uttar Pradesh go to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi for testing, he said.

According to the Union health ministry data, the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 173 on Thursday, which includes four deaths reported from Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh has recorded COVID-19 cases, which including one foreigner.

Earlier in the day, the state health minister inspected the 300-bedded quarantine facility at a hostel in Gautam Buddh Nagar University in Greater Noida.

That aside, there is a 200 bed quarantine centre at the newly constructed district hospital in Noida Sector 39 to house any person needing quarantine facility, local officials said.

So far, four people have tested positive for the novel coronvirus in Noida. Three of them are Noida residents, while one lives in Delhi, the officials said.