Nagaland health minister S. Pangnyu Phom on Friday inaugurated the TrueNat machine for preliminary screening of samples in Mokokchung district hospital.
The minister also visited the Covid-19 hospital in Mokokchung later.
Union ministry of health and family welfare sent the TrueNat machines for Mokokchung and Mon districts.
Principal secretary (home) Abhijit Sinha, in his briefing on Covid-19, said as on Friday, 664 samples were sent for testing from the state.
The results of 650 samples have been received and all are negative. Results for 14 samples are awaited, he said.
On Friday, altogether 1776 people were screened while 29 are presently under facility quarantine.
Sinha appreciated all for their continued cooperation and support to the lockdown measures across the state.
He said that strict adherence to the lockdown provisions is crucial in preventing and containing the spread of the virus.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on April 10 validated the usage of TrueNat, a diagnostic machine for Tuberculosis , for COVID-19 tests.
The council had approved the use of the tuberculosis testing machine for coronavirus screening tests on April 4.
The TrueNat machines are used to test drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB).