KOCHI: As part of its efforts to crack down on laboratories that conduct Covid tests illegally, the district administration on Wednesday closed down a lab at Edappally. District Collector Jafar Malik issued the closure notice to Cochin Health Care Diagnostic Centre after personally verifying the lab’s details.
During the inspection, it was found that the laboratory was functioning without a sufficient licence or the ICMR approval to carry out Covid tests. “The ICMR approval is a must for such labs. It even failed to send Covid test results to the district administration on a daily basis,” the collector said.
After receiving several complaints from public, Jafar Malik, along with officials of the health and drug control departments, conducted a surprise check. The district administration also received a complaint that lab staff used the same PPE kit all through the day while conducting tests.
“A case has been registered against the lab owner under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Such inspections and raids will be conducted in other labs too. If found functioning illegally, a closure notice will be served," the collector said.