Kerala government has received its first batch of 1,000 (fast acting) testing kits to diagnose COVID-19. Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP (member of parliament) Shashi Tharoor played a crucial role in sourcing these testing kits from Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd, which are in high demand.The kits were flown in a special Spice Jet cargo flight from Pune to Kozhikode on Thursday night and then taken to Thiruvananthapuram via road.

Last month, the Pune-based molecular diagnostics company Mylab produced testing kits to detect COVID-19 and was approved by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Responding to TNM’s query via email, Shashi Tharoor said that he sourced 3,000 testing kits for his own constituency, Thiruvananthapuram. He also said that he bought the kits in two batches from his MP Funds or Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund.

“We asked for 3,000 testing sample kits. We received 1,000 testing samples today (Friday) in our first batch, and in our second batch, 2,000 testing samples will be dispatched on Sunday,” said the Thiruvananthapuram MP.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan received the first kit from Thiruvananthapuram Collector K Gopalakrishnan on Friday.

These kits will facilitate Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing. According to a release from the Chief Minister’s office, the results will be available in 2 and half hours. Currently, it takes six to seven hours to get the results.

The 3,000 testing sample kits cost Rs 57 lakh. The costs included GST (goods and service tax), insurance, freight charges and miscellaneous expenses.

Source& Credit: News Minute Kerala online edition

The kits were flown in a special Spice Jet cargo flight from Pune to Kozhikode on Thursday night and then taken to Thiruvananthapuram via road.