Ghaziabad: Residents suffer as RT-PCR test reports getting delayed

Ghaziabad: It has been about two-and-a-half months since the new RT-PCR laboratory got initiated at MMG District Hospital in Ghaziabad, but it is yet to cater to

Ghaziabad: It has been about two-and-a-half months since the new RT-PCR laboratory got initiated at MMG District Hospital in Ghaziabad, but it is yet to cater to all the samples for Covid-19 testing taken up by the district health department. In such a scenario, people are suffering as they have to wait for more than five days to get their test reports.

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Usually, it takes about 24 to 48 hours to deliver a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result.

The RT-PCR laboratory was inaugurated on August 15, and has now reached the testing capacity of about 500 samples per day. According to officials, the district health department is collecting about 1,500-2,000 samples daily for RT-PCR tests. However, only about 400 samples are sent to MMG hospital while the rest are sent to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Noida.

“I got myself tested on Wednesday (October 28) and yet to receive the test report. Initially, I had fever and other Covid symptoms and decided to get myself tested. But I am taking all precautions,” said a resident of Vaishali who wished not to be named.

A resident of Shastri Nagar, who tested Covid-19 positive and completed home isolation on October 24, decided to go for RT-PCR test in order to be sure about the health status before attending office. “I took up rapid antigen test at the MMG hospital and it turned negative. So, it was followed with an RT-PCR test whose report I received after five days on October 29,” the patient said.

The delayed test reports in several cases have raised concerns about spread of infection as the person who got himself/herself tested could be attending to office, meeting friends or even moving about in public places.

Health officials admitted that delays were taking place. “Of about 1500-2000 RT-PCR samples a day, we are sending only 400 samples to MMG Hospital. The laboratory at MMG hospital at present can conduct only 500 tests per day. Overall, there may be some delay in getting several test reports, and a team of officers is inquiring the reason,” said an officer from the district health department, on condition of anonymity.

“As regards to people who are waiting for test reports, we will advise them to take all precautions and remain in home quarantine till they receive their reports,” the officer added.

If all the RT-PCR tests of Ghaziabad are taken up by the laboratory at MMG hospital, residents will be able to get their test reports within 24 hours.

Dr Anurag Bhargava, chief medical superintendent of MMG hospital, said that they have sufficient manpower but are testing only 500 samples per day. “It is because we are still in need of an RNA-extractor machine. Once we get it, we will be able to ramp up testing. Initially, we started with 50 tests and now are conducting 500 tests per day for the last 10 days,” he added.

Authorities at GIMS said that they are overburdened. “We generally provide test reports in 24 hours. Although we have an official capacity to conduct 2,000 tests, we are conducting about 3,000 tests per day. Sometimes, the burden of testing is high. Besides, about 5% samples are also repeated for further testing,” Brig (retd) Rakesh Gupta, director of GIMS, said.

Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey, however, said that the test reports’ issues were streamlined in the district. “If the residents have any complaints about the delayed test reports, we will get these checked up on case-to-case basis. If any issues emerge, we will take rectification measures and see to it that all issues are resolved,” Pandey said.