In its efforts to ramp up coronavirus testing in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched the city's first mobile COVID-19 testing bus that will be used for mass screening of people.
The 'CovidBus' is designed for mass screening by using a combination of fever, O2 saturation & AI-based Xrays’s for detecting coronavirus.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope, and Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai Praveen Pardeshi inaugurated the bus on Friday.
Additionally, the bus is equipped with RT-PCR swab collection facility. The government has made it mandatory to only use the RT-PCR test for the detection of the virus.
BMC has said that the COVIDBus will be visiting various slum locations & effectively isolate the high-risk suspects.
Notably, Mumbai is India's worst-affected city by coronavirus despite the state government taking all necessary measures to bring the pandemic in control.
Till 1 PM on Friday, Maharashtra has reported 10,498 cases, highest in the country, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. While 1,773 people have been cured, 459 succumbed to the virus.
