One of Indian cricket’s most famous sons, Harbhajan Singh, has set up a mobile laboratory for Covid-19 testing in Pune.
“He (Harbhajan) approached us a few days ago and offered help to contain the Covid-19 surge. The mobile lab for Covid-19 testing will start at Vadgaonsheri tomorrow (i.e. April 24, 2021),” said Chandrakant Patil, state BJP chief.
The mobile laboratory is being operated by a city-based diagnostics company, MyLab Discovery Solutions. Patil said it would help increase the testing capacity in the city.
The mobile laboratory could test 1,500 samples each day. It would give the RT-PCR tests report in four hours, a boon since it’s taking four days for ordinary citizens these days.
The mobile laboratory would move around Pune and provide free testing to those Below Poverty Line (BPL). For other citizens, it’s Rs 500 per test.
“It will be easily moved in slum areas and other localities making it possible to have easy access to the testing. This will help in faster testing and results which will further help in treating,” said Patil.
In Pune, presently, some 20,000 tests are being done daily. The positivity rate is as high as 20 per cent. Most of the tests are being done by private laboratories.
Harbhajan, one of India’s most celebrated cricketer, is presently representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League. He picked up 417 wickets from 103 Tests; and 269 scalps from 236 one-day internationals. He played 25 T20 internationals, claiming 25 wickets at an economy rate of 6.20. Indeed, his economy rate in Tests (2.84) and one-day internationals (4.31) is similarly remarkable. He is best known for his hat-trick in arguably India’s most famous Test at Eden Gardens in 2001 when India beat Australia against all odds, having been made to follow on.
