Health experts slam Bengal testing model

The state recorded its first Covid-19 positive case on March 17, but it was only last week that the administration started ‘sealing’ some localities after identifying them as ‘high-risk spots’.

West Bengal government’s response to Covid-19 is earning it a lot of criticism from health professionals for allegedly providing misleading data, testing “abysmally low” numbers of swab samples, playing down the extent of the spread of the disease in the state.

Police personnel wear protective face sheilds as they stand guard at a market during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in Kolkata on Tuesday. (ANI photo)

The state recorded its first Covid-19 positive case on March 17, but it was only last week that the administration started ‘sealing’ some localities after identifying them as ‘high-risk spots’. Experts allege that Bengal may have woken up late. According to senior cardiologist Kunal Sarkar, identification of such ‘micro-spots’ would be of no use, if the frequency of testing does not increase.

“...sample testing in India is quite low. And in West Bengal, it is exceptionally low. We need to understand that it is not a competition of low numbers. If we suppress numbers in a state, then our hot spots would amount to nothing but fallacies...,” said Sarkar.

Over the past week, the state has been testing about 200 samples per day on an average.

Shanta Dutta, director of National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED)– ICMR, said that the state government was not sending enough samples for testing. NICED – ICMR, Kolkata, is a laboratory under the Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratory network of the Union health ministry.

“...Earlier we used to get enough samples, around 80 – 90 samples every day, but over the last few days we have been receiving 10 – 30 samples. We have around 27,500 testing kits...,” Dutta said, adding that there is no shortage of testing kits.

A senior health official of the state government who requested to remain anonymous, however, said, “NICED is not the only testing lab in West Bengal...we have six other laboratories. Samples are also being sent there.”

The state recorded 10 positive cases on Tuesday taking the tally to 120.