Bengaluru, May 27 (IANS): The Karnataka government will install 15 Covid screening smart kiosks across the state for random population screening, an official said on Wednesday.

"Along with our ongoing measures, we are intensifying our efforts to test more people who may be potential or symptomatic cases of Covid," said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa inaugurating the kiosks built by Wipro GE.

The kiosks will address the need for higher and quicker community testing for the virus.

Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said the kiosks will ensure the safety of both the healthcare worker and the Covid test taker.

Looking like two conjoined telephone booths, the kiosk provides separate enclosures for the Covid tester and the test taker, separated by a transparent airtight partition.

Both the enclosures have separate entries, lighting and ventilation arrangements, including a mic and speaker for communication.

Replaceable gloves and hand sanitizer are made available in the kiosk.

"An attendant wearing a PPE will first collect basic information about people coming for tests: vitals (weight, age, any existing health condition), persons' travel history, if they have come in contact with any known Covid patients, and check their temperature using an IR temperature gun," said an official statement.

The information is then stored in an app.

Later, the test taker will be given a kit to collect his swab sample for testing and move into the kiosk enclosure for the healthcare worker to collect his sample.

On completion, the worker will return the swab sample for the test taker to put it in a vial and drop it in an ice box.

After every sample collection, the kiosk is disinfected.

Yediyurappa inaugurated a kiosk at the Vidhan Soudha on Wednesday.