SRL Diagnostics, one of India’s leading diagnostics chain has joined hands with Housejoy, a home maintenance company to develop mobile testing vans which will be deployed across Bengaluru for conducting routine pathological tests.

Talking about the association, Arindam Haldar, CEO, SRL Diagnostics said, “As the country continues to grapple with COVID-19 (coronavirus) and its far-reaching implications, it is important to adopt innovative methods that ensure regular healthcare service remains unaffected. Our association with Housejoy is an effort towards offering the basic testing facility to the citizens residing in Bangalore via Mobile-vans. The city has already been divided into zones basis the number of active coronavirus cases present in the area which has further limited the access of people & hence it’s important to ensure that healthcare facility is available at the doorstep. Last month, to speed up testing in the containment zones of Mumbai we deployed Mobile Testing Van for COVID-19 in & around the hotspots of Mumbai.”

A basic testing facility available at a pathological lab has been replicated in a bus by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) using indigenous technology. The bus comprising of a driver, a doctor and a lab technician is equipped to conduct 300 tests in a day. The pilot project will be implemented in 30 societies for 15 days and depending upon the success rate, the initiative will be further rolled across other parts of the city.

Sharing details about the initiative, Sanchit Gaurav, Founder & CEO, Housejoy, said, “Housejoy is committed to helping its customers and the government in this time of crisis and is a part of the government’s coronavirus rapid action task force. We have been undertaking fumigation services as well as ensuring that people get access to essential items during the pandemic through our initiative Housejoy Mart. Through the COVID Testing Camps, we are supporting the government in tracing people with the condition and ensuring that they are referred for further treatment appropriately. Given that extensive testing is one of the best strategies to combat and prevent this outbreak, I believe our contribution will be a step ahead in the larger efforts. We thank our partners in the initiative and are happy to receive support from ACT towards the same.”

Housejoy has also partnered with healthcare brands like Portea Medical, ApnaComplex, Bangalore Apartment's Federation (BAF) and ICMR accredited national clinical reference lab Biognosys Technologies to set up COVID-19 Testing Camps across Bengaluru. This initiative has been launched in association with the Government of Karnataka and Action COVID Team (ACT) Grants and was inaugurated by Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa.