Bangalore | 11th May 2020: In a first of its kind partnership, leading private players including tech-driven Construction, Renovation, Interiors, and Home Maintenance company Housejoy, home healthcare brand Portea Medical, diagnostics provider SRL Diagnostics, apartment management, and security solutions provider ApnaComplex, Bangalore Apartment’s Federation (BAF) and ICMR accredited national clinical reference lab Biognosys Technologies have come together to set up COVID-19 Testing Camps across Bengaluru.
The initiative has been launched in association with the Government of Karnataka and Action Covid Team (ACT) Grants and was inaugurated by Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa today. ACT Grants is a first-of-its-kind INR 100 crore grant set up by top fund managers from blue-chip venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Accel, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Prominent startup CEOs have also joined hands to back fledgling firms working on products and services to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pilot project will be implemented in 30 societies for 15 days and the partners in the initiative aim to undertake about 18,000 tests within the stipulated time frame. Depending on the success rate, the initiative will be rolled out across other cities with support from the respective governments.
Speaking about this, Sanchit Gaurav, Founder & CEO, Housejoy, said, “Housejoy is committed to helping its customers and the government in this time of crisis and is a part of the government’s coronavirus rapid action task force. We have been undertaking fumigation services as well as ensuring that people get access to essential items during the pandemic through our initiative Housejoy Mart. Through the COVID Testing Camps, we are supporting the government in tracing people with the condition and ensuring that they are referred for further treatment appropriately. Given that extensive testing is one of the best strategies to combat and prevent this outbreak, I believe our contribution will be a step ahead in the larger efforts. We thank our partners in the initiative and are happy to receive support from ACT towards the same.”
Adding further, Meena Ganesh, MD, and CEO, Portea Medical, said, “Adding further, Meena Ganesh, MD, and CEO, Portea Medical, said, “We are happy to partner with the Karnataka government and Housejoy in this initiative. It is a fact that we will need to learn to live with the virus, build our life and livelihood, and move ahead with activities by ensuring strong healthcare support systems around us. This would entail robust testing and taking care of vulnerable sections of society including the elderly, chronic patients, and expectant mothers. We at Portea Medical are uniquely positioned to provide these given our years of experience in delivering high quality, technology-enabled home care services. At this time of crisis, it becomes our collective responsibility as organizations to complement the government in its efforts and ensure that we combat the pandemic in the best way possible.”
Prashanth Prakash, Partner Accel, and Member, ACT Grants said, “The COVID 19 pandemic has brought with it, unforeseen challenges for society, and severe health and socio-economic crises never seen before in our lifetime. One of the most important steps towards combating this pandemic is testing and taking the precautionary steps. ACT Grants is happy to support Housejoy and other private players in their mission of assisting the government in tracking and testing. We will continue to support innovators with ideas that could act as a force multiplier in the battle against COVID -19.”
Commenting on the initiative, Raja Sekhar Kommu, Co-Founder & CEO, ApnaComplex, said, “ApnaComplex is very glad to do our part in helping the government in testing more citizens. Testing in societies within red zones will help ease the anxiety of residents and help them return to their normal life with confidence. ApnaComplex is proud to be a part of such a noble initiative.”
Arindam Haldar, CEO, SRL Diagnostics said “As the country continues to grapple with COVID-19 (coronavirus) and its far-reaching implications, it is important to adopt innovative methods that ensure regular healthcare service remains unaffected. Our association with Housejoy is an effort towards offering the basic testing facility to the citizens residing in Bangalore via Mobile-vans. The city has already been divided into zones basis the number of active coronavirus cases present in the area which has further limited the access of people & hence it’s important to ensure that healthcare facility is available at the doorstep. Last month, to speed up testing in the containment zones of Mumbai we deployed Mobile Testing Van for COVID-19 in & around the hotspots of Mumbai.”
Vidya Goggi, Arun Kumar, Hareesh Sivaraman & Vikram Rai, BAF Covid Task Force, Governing Council Member – “BAF is happy to partner with the covid health testing clinic stitched together by Housejoy with GoK and various other service providers. Bringing asymptomatic testing facility to doorsteps of our apartment residents in various risk zones will give the govt and RWAs the confidence to mitigate risks if any and act swiftly in containing virus spread”
Dr. Rama Chandra Rao and R. V. Sridhar of Biognosys said “We are happy to associate with ACT Corona Task force. Together we are fighting against the Corona Virus. Love to serve the humanity for a common cause. We will give our best in Covid – 19 Testing.”
As part of the testing camp, there will be free blood sugar and blood pressure testing. Followed by preliminary tests for the 8 symptoms of Covid-19 such as sore throat, dry cough, breathing breathlessness, etc. Housejoy has converted a KSRTC bus into a mobile clinic for the purpose with one unit comprising 3 helpers, 1 doctor, 1 lab technician, to be deployed in each society. About 300 tests can be performed in a day with the help of a single unit. All the data collected will be analyzed and passed on to relevant government bodies.
