Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities via video conferencing today. These facilities are located at the National Institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research, at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida.

He said that these hi-tech testing facilities will boost the testing capacity by almost 10,000 daily tests in each of the three cities. He said, more number of tests will assist early detection and treatment which will bolster the fight against the Corona virus.

He added that these labs will not be limited to testing for COVID, but in future, will also be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Dengue and several other diseases.

Mr. Modi emphasized that due to timely decisions taken by the government, India is better placed in comparison with many other countries in terms of deaths due to COVID.

The recovery rate is also higher than other countries and is improving on a daily basis. He said, the total number of people who have recovered from the virus is about to reach 10 lakh.

The Prime Minister said that it was imperative for the country to develop Corona specific health infrastructure at a fast pace. He noted that the Centre had announced a package of 15 thousand crore at the beginning of this health menace.

Mr. Modi said, the country now has more than 11 thousand COVID facilities and more than 11 lakh isolation beds.

Speaking about the testing facilities, Prime Minister said, the country had only one COVID testing centre in January. He mentioned in a small span of time, there are almost 1,300 such labs in the country now.

He said that at present, more than five lakh tests are being conducted in the country daily and efforts are underway to increase this capacity to 10 lakh in the coming weeks. Prime Minister noted that the country has become the second largest PPE kit manufacturer.

He said, the country has progressed from not having even a single PPE kit manufacturer, six months ago, to having more than 1200 manufacturers. He also highlighted that from being dependent on imports, now more than three lakh N-95 masks are being produced in the country daily.

He also highlighted that the annual production capacity of ventilators in the country has become 3 lakh and there has also been a significant increase in the production of medical oxygen cylinders.

Mr. Modi said, these developments have helped save lives and have converted India from being an importer of such products to becoming an exporter.

Talking about efforts to contain the spread in rural areas, the Prime Minister mentioned the need to develop new health infrastructure as well as boost the already existing health infrastructure facilities in the villages.

Prime Minister said that apart from developing the physical infrastructure, the country has also managed to swiftly ramp up human resources including paramedics, ASHA workers, Anganwadis among others. He said, as health workers, they played a significant part in controlling the spread of the pandemic.

He also spoke about the need to work on continuously attaching new and retired health professionals with the health system in order to prevent fatigue from setting in our Corona Warriors.

The Prime Minister forewarned people to be cautious during the celebrations of the festivals in order to keep the virus contained. He underlined that the benefits of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna should reach the poor on a timely basis and added that till the time a vaccine is not developed, people should adhere to the health guidelines following do gaz doori, wearing masks and hand sanitization.

The launch ceremony of the three high-throughput testing facilities was also attended by Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal along with ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava.