The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida on April 13 started its lab for testing coronavirus samples, a feat that will help Gautam Buddh Nagar get COVID-19 test results in 24 hours, officials said.

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Earlier, samples of suspected coronavirus patients in Gautam Buddh Nagar were taken either to Delhi or Aligarh for testing and the whole process till the result would take 48 hours, the officials said. GIMS got the approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country's apex body for biomedical research, in Delhi and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on April 12 for opening its lab facilities for sample testing from April 13, the district administration said in a statement.

The chairman of Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and Yamuna Expressway Authority, inaugurated the facility, hailing it as a boon for COVID-19 patients. GIMS officials said earlier a sample was taken here but due to unavailability of testing facilities in the district, it was sent to a lab at the Aligarh Muslim University and the whole process would take two days. Due to the delay in the reports, the patients kept in quarantine as well as their family members had to face a lot of problems.

After this lab testing facility is available at GIMS, now a report will be available within 24 hours that certainly improves the quality of patient care and reduces the psychological stress towards the suspects waiting for their reports, the GIMS director Brigadier (retired) said. The district administration also hailed the GIMS director and his team of doctors -- Vivek Kumar Gupta, Harmesh Minocha, Nidhi Pal and others -- for their pivotal role in getting the testing lab started in a span of 10 days.