Representative Image RANCHI: Eight RT-PCR testing facilities of Jharkhand have been asked to send 300 samples of Covid-19 patients to Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar every month for genome sequencing. The directive was issued by state health secretary Arun Kumar Singh, days after genome sequencing of 364 samples collected between January and March this year showed the prevalence of five different Covid variants in Jharkhand. The secretary also pulled up the management of these testing facilities for failing to send the adequate numbers of samples to the laboratory regularly. The facilities include Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, the TB sanatorium in Itki, Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur and the state-run medical colleges in Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Dumka, Palamu and Hazaribag.