Suspected coronavirus cases from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will now be tested in Hyderabad with the health authorities setting up the necessary facilty at the government-run Gandhi Hospital here.

Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender on Monday inaugurated the facility at Gandhi Hospital’s Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) lab.

He said samples from the suspected cases in both the Telugu states will be examined in the hi-tech lab for which the Centre has provided rapid diagnostic kits.

He said the test kits can be used to conduct tests on swab samples of 30 people in a day.

With the settings up of this facility, the authorities will be able to save the time in sending the samples to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

The Health Minister said that the test result will now be available in 10 hours.

Currently, it is taking two days to send the samples to Pune and get the report.

So far, 20 people with suspected coronavirus symptoms approached Fever Hospital. Their blood and swab samples were sent to NIV, Pune.

Rajender said none of samples were tested positive.

The authorities are awaiting results of eight other samples.

Almost all these people had returned from China and they voluntarily approached the hospital, where 40-bed isolation ward is kept ready for patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms.

A similar isolation was has been set up at Gandhi Hospital. Officials said some additional beds were arranged at Chest Hospital as a precautionary measure.

All teaching hospitals in Telangana will be added to the list of hospitals providing symptomatic to patients of suspected coronavirus.

The health authorities have urged frequent flyers with a travel history to China and other countries where coronavirus cases are being reported, to voluntarily get themselves admitted to designated hospitals in Hyderabad.