Bangalore

In a bid to help scale up COVID-19 testing in Karnataka, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) recently handed over a Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India’s leading institution of advanced education and research in sciences and engineering.

The MMU will be used as a molecular diagnostic laboratory that can test for Coronavirus and provide results quickly thus reducing turnaround time while further scaling up testing. It would reduce the chances of transmission as patients can be tested within the confines of their surroundings preventing overcrowding at hospitals resulting in containing the virus. The mobile unit can be driven to provide prevention and relief activities in areas where there is no medical support infrastructure for the local community.

Shekar Viswanathan, Vice-Chairman and Whole-time Director, TKM along with the team handed over the MMU to Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc in the presence of senior members of the institute on Friday.

“Every affected country in the world is facing a lack of adequate medical support and infrastructure due to the unprecedented magnitude of the virus outbreak. The rapid rise in the number of cases in the last few days in India has put more strain on the medical infrastructure particularly from a testing standpoint. Mobile units such as the MMU will be crucial to complement the laboratory network on the ground. To increase testing and to flatten the COVID curve, corporates and Governments have to join hands. We, at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, remain committed to supporting the Government of Karnataka in fighting this pandemic and will continue to collaborate with them on various fronts,” expressed Viswanathan.

TKM has been proactively responding to the needs of the community and the Government since the outbreak of the pandemic. The company has contributed Rs 2 crore to Karnataka Chief Minister’s Relief Fund followed by the handing over of 3,000 Hazmat suits to the Government Health Volunteers in the state. About 3,500 essential kits, benefitting over 15,000 members were given to daily wage workers. TKM deployed 14 buses to support the health department in the state in addition to the distribution of sanitizers and masks to the state police. TKM also supported its supplier partner, Stump Schuele & Somappa Springs Pvt Ltd., to ramp up the production of face shields for healthcare workers from 275 to over 17,000 units per day.

Recently, TKM provided 45 thermal scanners, 45,000 hand sanitizers, 100 beddings, consumables for 100 patients, 20 sets of equipment such as intravenous stands, blood pressure monitors and safety gear including 12,000 examination gloves, 70,000 three-ply face masks and 7,500 N95 masks to the Health Department, Government of Karnataka and Bangalore police personnel. TKM also provided 10 fumigation equipment to Victoria Hospital through Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute and another 10 to the Town Municipal Corporation, Bidadi, Ramanagara District, Karnataka as per their requirements.