Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch ‘high throughput Covid-19 testing facilities’ on July 27 via video conferencing , the PMO said in a statement on Sunday. PM Modi will inaugurate the facilities at the ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research based in Noida, the ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health located in Mumbai and in Kolkata’s ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases.

These facilities will increase testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening the health infrastructure by early detection and treatment of Covid-19 patients. In the long run, these facilities will help in curbing the spread of the pandemic, the statement said.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Science and Technology, along with the three Chief Ministers of Maharashtra— Uddhav Thackeray, West Bengal—Mamata Banerjee and Uttar Pradesh—Yogi Adityanath will attend the virtual launch.

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The Prime Minister on Sunday reiterated the importance of wearing masks and social distancing and urged the country to fight the battle against coronavirus with “full awareness and vigilance”. The Prime Minister was addressing the nation through his radio programme called Mann ki Baat. He also referred to the country’s increased testing and the national recovery rate which has been steadily rising and is currently at 63.54%.

A day earlier, India on Saturday tested a record number of 4, 20,000 samples in a single day, to detect the coronavirus infection among the population. This is the first time that the country has carried out tests on such a large number of samples in 24 hours since Friday morning, the Union health ministry’s Covid-19 data revealed.

With 4,20,898 samples tested in the last 24 hours, the Tests Per Million (TPM) has increased to 11,485 and the total testing capacity has climbed to 1,58,49,068.

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“These three high-throughput testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida; ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai; and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day,” it statement read.

The new facilities will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The laboratories will also be equipped to test for diseases other than Covid-19 as well and after the pandemic has subsided, will be able to test for Hepatitis-B and C, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Neisseria and Dengue.

India reported a spike of 48,661 coronavirus cases and 705 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.