Locally-funded People’s Covid Lab comes up in S’kulam

Visakhapatnam: The People’s Covid Lab (PCL) of the People’s VRDL Laboratory— a unique medical facility in terms of its funding— has come up at the Rajiv Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Srikakulam town. The lab has been built with contributions from people of the district.
A brainchild of Srikakulam district collector J Nivas, contributions for the facility started pouring in since the beginning of the lockdown in March.The lion’s share of the establishment cost of the facility, nearly Rs 70 lakh, out of a total cost of Rs 1 crore came from voluntary contributions by locals.
Speaking to TOI, Ch Sridhar, the special officer for Covid-19 in Srikakulam district, said, “The lab was built by the contribution of people. We imported medical equipment from Germany and the USA. The lab was built on an emergency basis. We put up the names of contributors.”
Srikakulam district collector J Nivas said that PCL has helped in reducing the time to get results by nearly 12 hours. “Moreover, this lab is helping us increase testing. Now, we are able to conduct nearly 1,200 tests at the lab. The district is able to conduct 5,000 tests a day. I am thankful to all who contributed for the lab,” he added.
Medical and health chief secretary KS Jawahar Reddy has given a nod to recruitment of personnel for the lab. The salaries and maintenance costs of the lab will be borne by the state government. Sources said that chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy is keen on suggesting other districts to work on similar lines.