Delhi's Central District gets mobile COVID-19 testing van

The battle against coronavirus in Delhi is on war footing with the government taking several measures to curb the spread of the virus. From lockdown to forming containment zones, no stone is being left unturned to containt the virus. However, since the key to fight this pandemic is testing, tracing and treatment, the District Magistrate of Delhi's Central District launched a mobile coronavirus testing van.

"It was important to make testing viable, accessible and at the same time ensuring the safety of health workers. Therefore, Central District has initiated the 'TESTING OF COVID-19 ON WHEELS' which shall cover the length and breadth of lanes and bylanes of Delhi," said Nidhi Shrivastav, DM Central District.

The vehicle can cater to narrow lanes, larger and dense areas of District Central, increasing the number of samples collected in a day. The mobile van can collect two samples at a time. It will take both nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs, seal them tight in double packing and transfer the sample to the testing facility.

The person who will collect the sample will be in the enclosure, so will not have to wear PPE that is already scarce. 

An inverter has also been installed in the vehicle to run a fan. An icebox is kept inside the enclosure to keep the samples intact. The mobile van will not only spread awareness through creatives on the outer wall but also through a speaker attached, which will do the announcement and spread awareness.

Notably, the Central district is severely affected by COVID-19 and it has seven containment zones.