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Dimapur, May 4 (EMN): Facing an unprecedented task, the government of Nagaland is currently focusing on first completing the BSL-3 lab at Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima (NHAK).
Only after the Kohima project is finished, it will begin the installation of its twin brother, BSL-2 lab at the Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) in Dimapur, according to the secretary of Health and Family Welfare, Kesonyu Yhome.
The secretary told Eastern Mirror on Monday that the Kohima lab would be functional within ‘two or three days’ time’.
Yhome, who is leading the four-member team to oversee the laboratory projects, informed that the lab at NHAK, after completion, would have ‘test runs’. After that, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) will give the ‘final green signal’. This will again take a ‘few days’ to complete.
The official added that once the ICMR is satisfied with the test, they would give the credentials and the green signal. He added that the two consignments that arrived in Nagaland had also the equipment needed for setting up the BSL-2 lab in Dimapur.
‘We are focusing on Kohima BSL-3 lab for now because if we focus on both, then we will end up delaying the completion for both labs,’ said Yhome.
The secretary informed that construction of the lab at CIHSR would begin ‘immediately’ after the Kohima project is completed.
He said that the lab in Dimapur would take lesser time as both the equipment and the manpower were already in place. Yhome also clarified that the construction of the BSL-3 lab took some time to complete, as they had to place the order for its production based on the shape, structure and layout of the lab.
The productions are customised and no readymade material is available for any lab, he informed. He said that the construction of the lab would have been completed by now if not for one or two days delay by the aircraft delivering the shipment.
Some problems with the production line also contributed in slowing down the progress of construction as most of the production comes from Gujarat and Maharashtra, and they too were under strict lockdown, he added.
Stating that the final consignment, which was supposed to arrive on Monday, was unfortunately cancelled at the last hour due to some problem, he informed that the shipment, which has the equipment for both the labs, would arrive on Tuesday.