Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) have started conducting coronavirus detection test, and will be able provide the result within four hours.
Chairman of BSMMU's Department of Virology Professor Saif Ullah Munshi on Thursday said they started conducting test from Wednesday and the results of the tests were also sent to Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
“The Virology Department collected samples of patients who were referred by our Out-Patient Department (OPD),. The test is completely free. If anyone tests positive for Covid-19, we will refer the patient to the designated hospitals setup for coronavirus treatment,” he said.
"From processing the sample to output of the result, it takes around four hours in total, Saif added.
Dr Monira Parvin, associate professor of Department of Virology at DMCH said they started collecting samples and began the procedure of tests on Thursday.
Till Thursday, BSMMU collected and tested 18 samples while DMCH conducted six tests.
DMCH Director Brig Gen AKM Nasir Uddin said: “We are collecting samples of patients at OPD, isolation ward, and those who were referred by our doctors.”
“We will send copies of the results to IEDCR, and also inform the pateints about the results. If anyone is found positive with Covid-19, we will send them to the designated hospital by our special ambulance,” the director added.
As of now, six people have died while 56 others were infected by the novel coronavirus in Bangladesh.
Covid-19, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan, has infected more than one million people and claimed over 50,000 lives wordwide.
At least 194,578 infected people have also recovered from Covid-19, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).