Cross Country

Mobile Covid-19 sample collection kiosk in Agartala, perhaps first instance in country

By thepongkor

April 27, 2020

Covid-19 brings spate of destruction, human-life lost counts in lakhs, working-hour lost stands crores of workers at the brink of devastation, ILO says, 400 million in India only may be in trouble with their earnings.  And it triggers a spate of innovations too, tasking human brain in devising a lot new in a jiffy  to cope an unheard-of situation.

A three-wheeler auto-truck built for conveying goods need no delicate treatment has become a mini medical facility.

Agartala Smart City designed a mobile Covid-19 sample collection kiosk.  Mobile kiosk for this purpose is perhaps first of its kind in the country.  A small road-side shop, in local tongue a  ‘Tong-dukan’,  like structure with a wide glass pane  opened through a pair of  large gloves positioned on a ‘three wheeler Piaggio vehicles’ is the kiosk that would come up to the people to be tested, instead of they going to hospital.  For it is small  it can steer the narrow lanes and by lanes.

Agartala is the capital city of Northeast Indian state, Tripura.

“One kiosk is handed over to the Chief Medical Officer in West Tripura district today. It ensures protection to the sample collecting doctor & prevents wastage of PPE. This also facilitates mass testing of larger number of people in a short time. Two more are getting ready. Collection of samples already started,” said CEO Agartala Smart City & Commissioner, Agartala Municipal Corporation Dr Shailesh Yadav.

One unit costs a little more than Rs.3.5 lakh.

This is so far the first mobile Covid-19 sample collection facility, a kiosk set on wheels.

” I really don’t know. But I have not read about such a thing or seen mobile kiosk in any news till now, also it’s mounting on a Piaggio Three-Wheeler makes it ideal for narrow streets of Agartala City,” commented Dr Yadav when asked if it was the first ever instance in the country.

 

( Agartala,Tripura)