Nagaland’s first Biosafety Level (BSL) -3 laboratory is being set up in Naga Hospital Authority Kohima. Another lab – (BSL-2), will come up at Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research, Dimapur.
The Government has fast tracked setting up of the BSL-3 Lab, as currently testing of COVID-19 samples from Nagaland are done in Assam.
The BSL laboratory is a containment of four ranges, from lowest level 1 to the highest level 4. To set up a BSL-3 lab, a very high international standard protocol needs to be followed, while ensuring that materials are assembled from different cities across the country on time.
High safety procedures need to be maintained inside the lab. A doctor working in a COVID-19 laboratory of the Madhya Pradesh government in Indore on Sunday tested positive for the coronavirus infection.