Private labs must give Covid test results within 24 hours: BMC Commissioner

Private laboratories in Mumbai will not be allowed to function if they do not give Covid-19 test results within 24 hours, said Mumbai municipal commissioner, IS

Private laboratories in Mumbai will not be allowed to function if they do not give Covid-19 test results within 24 hours, said Mumbai municipal commissioner, IS Chahal, on Tuesday. In an interview to a leading electronic media house, Chahal said, “Some Covid-19 testing labs have committed a serious crime by delaying test reports by 18 days. They deserve to be punished.”

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Chahal said, “When I joined, I found that April 4 swab results had come on April 22. We could not wait for 18 days to track high risk contacts. I told them unless you give me swab reports in 24 hours, you cannot function in Mumbai. Don’t chew more than you can digest.”

Regarding altering testing guidelines in Mumbai, Chahal said, “We have gone beyond ICMR guidelines. We have said that for high-risk contacts of positive cases who are home-quarantined, their swabs can be collected at home, where as ICMR had said no to home collecting of swabs.”