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Chennai

Amid complaints of delays, private labs in Chennai told to give COVID-19 results in 24 hours

The Commissioner said that of the 35 testing centres in the city, 12 are operated by the government and 23 are private

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CHENNAI: In the wake of complaints from residents that COVID-19 results are being delayed by two to three days, Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash has told all testing centres in the city to produce results within 24 hours.

In a meeting at Ripon Buildings with representatives of private testing centres, the Corporation Commissioner on Wednesday said that there must be no delay in results and all staff involved in
testing must be well-trained.

"All labs must collect basic details like name, address, phone number, contact history for the past 15 days and health issues. This information must be given to the corporation immediately," the Commissioner said.

The Commissioner said that of the 35 testing centres in the city, 12 are operated by the government and 23 are private. He said about 10,000 tests are being done every day and the city has carried out 5,04,460 tests so far.

He said that all labs must follow ICMR protocols on sanitation and must keep banners on safety measures for people to follow. "All the staff must have protective gear without fail," he said.

The Commissioner added that close to 18,000 volunteers are there to monitor people in home quarantine now.

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