Coronavirus impact: Toyota provides mobile testing unit to IISc

Sumesh Soman Updated: June 15, 2020, 03:33 PM IST

Toyota has provided the Indian Institute of Science with a mobile medical unit to assist the government of Karnataka in the fight against COVID-19. The mobile unit is capable of running tests for Coronavirus on the move and it can also provide results quickly, thus it reduces the turnaround time of testing for COVID-19 patients.

It can also help with relief support and other essential facilities that are a must during these testing times at locations that are far away from medical support infrastructure. It also reduces footfall at hospitals and prevents overcrowding of patients, that can further leave people vulnerable to the virus, as the mobile unit can conduct tests within close proximity of the patients' locations. Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman and whole-time director at TKM along with his team handed over the mobile medical unit to professor Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc.

The Japanese carmaker has stopped forth earlier as well to assist the government and authorities in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. The company deployed 14 buses to support the health department of Karnataka, distributed face masks and sanitisers to the state police. Toyota provided over 3,000 hazmat suits to the government health volunteers and 3,500 essential kits that helped over 15,000 daily wage workers.



Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman and whole-time director at TKM said, "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."