Belagavi: Pilot testing of throat swab samples for COVID-19 was started at the ICMR National Institute of Traditional Medicine (NITM) in Belagavi on Wednesday, April 22 and the process of testing samples will, however, be formally inaugurated on Thursday.
Swabs of suspects have until now been sent to laboratories in Pune, Bengaluru, and Shivamogga for testing, and it is taking the authorities a long time to get results.
It may be recalled that a detailed proposal for setting up the laboratory at Belagavi was sent to the Union government for approval from ICMR, and permission was issued on April 16.
However, testing could not begin immediately due to the lack of necessary equipment that was procured.
