Mumbai, Apr 25 (PTI) Maharashtra has conducted over one lakh COVID-19 tests, the highest in the country, across 40 laboratories in the state since January, Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday.

Samples of 1,08,972 individuals had been sent to the laboratories till Saturday, of which 94,485 persons tested negative.

The state has reported 6,817 positive cases so far while some reports are awaited.

Tests are being conducted at 20 government and as many private laboratories at the rate of 5,000 to 7,000 per day, a health department statement said.

The state government started screening passengers for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here in January.

In the last week of January, samples of five persons were sent to Pune's National Institute of Virology (NIV), which was then the only institute where tests were conducted.

Since then, number of laboratories where tests can be conducted was ramped up and over one lakh tests were conducted, the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)