MUMBAI, VASAI-VIRAR, PALGHAR, THANE, 23 JULY, 2020 (GPN):  In a letter to Maharashtra CM, Nallasopara MLA urged Uddhav Thackeray to set up a government testing centre owing to rising Coronavirus cases

In the wake of rising Coronavirus cases in the Vasai taluka, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) MLA Kshitij Thakur has, through a letter, urged the Maharashtra Chief Minister to set up a government COVID-19 testing centre in the region to facilitate efficient testing. In a letter to Uddhav Thackeray, Thakur said that due to lack of testing centre in the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC) area, swab test samples are being sent to Haffkine Institute in Mumbai city for results.

Through the letter, Kshitij Thakur said that VVMC should have its own Coronavirus testing laboratory. “In situations when time is of utmost importance, sending samples to Mumbai will lead to waiting for test results which would mean a delay in treatment. This could lead to unwanted circumstances for patients. Not to forget sending swab samples to Mumbai is also a costly affair. A testing centre within the area will enable the Vasai-Virar residents to save their time and resources and would be able to take swift measures to the patients,” said Kshitij Thakur in the letter.

The Nallasopara MLA wrote that as many as 90 percent of the total cases of Palghar district are from Vasai taluka. “Most of the essential staff working in government bodies live in Vasai taluka and travel to the island city or Thane on a daily basis. This has also been a major reason of spike in COVID-19 cases in recent days,” Kshitij Thakur added. ENDS