Delhi: Labs halt services over delay in giving out test results amid COVID-19 spike
A fast rise in COVID-19 instances and exceeding requests for both RT-PCR or antigen checks has abruptly pressured a majority of personal laboratories to cease accumulating swab samples even from testing centres for no less than two days. As per a authorities bulletin on Tuesday night, in the final 24 hours, Delhi carried out 86,526 checks. Despite having enough infrastructure and geared up with machines and testing kits, many labs are closing themselves for 3 to 4 days citing overburden and absence in manpower.
As per ICMR pointers, the information of results must be uploaded inside 24 hours. Centres overburdened with stress are even failing to offer results even inside 48 hours of accumulating the swab samples.
To preserve tempo with the COVID-19 surge and to test the delay in offering results, the Delhi authorities on April 16 issued an order stating, “Keeping in view the above and to ensure that districts (and Government hospitals) have an adequate number of slots available in labs to get their samples processed within a stipulated time frame (preferably 24 hours and latest within 48 hours) through the Gold Standard Test in continuation of order 1 tF.No.253/DGHS/PLIW-IV/COVID-19/ NCDC/2020/ 12205-12274 dated 15/01/202 the linkage of public and private sector lab with each District of NCT of Delhi is amended with immediate effect.”
However, failing to offer the results throughout the stated time restrict of 48 hours, labs are being pressured towards closure for no less than two days. Dr Gauri Agarwal, Founder-Director of Genestrings Diagnostic Center, Malviya Nagar informed ANI,
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“My team and I have not slept for 72 hours. We are doing a collection of 8,000 to 10,000 samples per day and the only issue we are struck with is manpower. Most of the labs have proper infrastructure, be it machines or testing kits. We are running short of manpower. A lot of our technicians are contracting the virus. However, there is a continuous hiring process and also we have to keep training them.”
“The home calls have increased by about four to five times. We are trying our best but the home collection is not possible for all. I would request people to come to the centre for swab testing that helps in getting results faster,” she stated.
Shyam Singh Chandel, Patient Relation officer of a non-public lab stated, “The management system of hospitals and laboratories is deteriorating. Cases are increasing and hence the demand for tests is also propelling faster. We used to do 500 tests earlier, now we are not able to meet the demand even at 5000 tests, testing results are being delayed too. The burden has gone to such an extent where we were forced to stop home collection.”
Delhi can also be witnessing a severe scarcity in its oxygen capability.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated, “Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge the centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen.”
Delhi recorded 277 deaths in the final 24 hours, the very best because the pandemic started over a yr in the past, and 28,395 new instances of COVID-19. There are at present 85,575 lively instances in the nationwide capital.
 (With ANI inputs)
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