Short supply of Covid-19 testing kits a major concern

Hospitals and labs in the city are dealing with a short supply of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing kits, leading to long queues outside facilities with a wait time of more than six hours, in some instances, on Tuesday

Hospitals and labs in the city are dealing with a short supply of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing kits, leading to long queues outside facilities with a wait time of more than six hours, in some instances, on Tuesday.

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“There has been a shortage of kits after a lockdown was announced in Delhi. The suppliers are not providing kits due to travel restrictions. The hospital has been sending its own vehicle to collect the kits so that there is no delay in sample collection. The process is likely to be streamlined in a few days,” said Anil Khatana, head of operations, W Pratiksha Hospital in Sector 56.

A representative of a private lab administering RT-PCR tests, said, “Due to lockdown, many labs and hospitals are stocking up RT-PCR kits. Due to this reason, the entire testing process is getting affected. Testing is getting capped based on the available stock of kits.”

A visit by an HT team to some of the big hospitals found that many people who arrived as early as 8am were still waiting to be tested at 2pm. Due to the swelling of crowds, distancing norms were also flouted.

Santosh Gupta, a resident of Sector 10, who works in Sector 66, said, “I came at 8am, thinking I will go to office directly after my test, but even after six hours, I was not tested. They asked me to return on Wednesday morning. More than 100 people were waiting along with me, including people with high fever and flu.”

Several hospitals had also posted outside the testing room early in the day that the sample collection for RT-PCR testing had ended. Even as some resumed testing later in the day after receiving kits, queues did not subside.

“Due to heavy footfall, the hospital has started a token system for the general population and senior citizens. Documentation also takes time, but we are trying to streamline the process,” Dr Ritu Garg, zonal director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.

Depender Kumar, a resident of Sector 65, who was waiting in a line outside a big private hospital, alleged that there are no facilities for people coming to give their samples. “The government should think about what problems people are facing while visiting for tests. We are even waiting in long queues but are unable to get the tests done or get reports on time due to long pendency and shortage of kits. Waiting outside the hospitals with many people around, with a few not even taking any precautions such as wearing face masks, is also a threat for us. There is no clarity and the hospital staff does not give a correct estimate of how much time will it take. Waiting for six hours is no joke,” he said.

At present, the government is conducting Covid-19 tests at more than 40 locations across the city, of which 23 are government locations where tests are conducted for free without prior reservation.

“Gurugram is doing the highest number of sampling in the state. Government institutions are being approached by people for testing and a lot of them were turned away by private labs due to shortage of kits or other reasons,” said Dr Umang, medical officer, Patel Nagar urban primary health centre.