ONGOLE: Being in a quarantine centre in Prakasam district proved to be a harrowing experience for a 24-year-old software engineer who works for a reputed company in Mumbai.
Not only did the youngster from Jarugumilli mandal have to put up with the lack of facilities, but he also wasn’t given clarity on when his coronavirus test results would be given.
Advised to leave Mumbai, he landed in Vijayawada on June 21. He gave his samples for testing at the airport, and was allowed to undergo home isolation for 14 days.
He then reached his native place the same day. But on June 25, medical staff and policemen shifted him to the Singarayakonda quarantine care centre saying they would collect his samples again and let him return home in two days.
And that’s when his troubles began. The quarantine centre didn’t have proper beds or enough toilets, and no proper food was given. Upon his insistence, the staff there collected his samples after five days, but the test results are yet to arrive.
As he started complaining about the lack of facilities, he and 14 others were shifted to the Kandukur Government Polytechnic College quarantine centre on Friday night.
“I don’t know why I was made to stay for about 10 days, or when I can go home. Since I arrived, I have been asking about by Covid-19 test results but haven’t got an answer. Compared to the quarantine centre at Singarayakonda, which lacked proper sanitation, food, beds, and even toilets, the centre at Kandukur is a little better,” he told TNIE on Saturday.
However, this isn’t an isolated incident. Several people who have been lodged at various quarantine centres have been facing a similar situation as their test results have been delayed for more than a week.
“We hail from Singarabotlapalem village in Ponnaluru mandal, and have been working as construction labourers at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra for the last few years. After we returned due to the lockdown, the district health staff took us to the Singarayakonda quarantine centre on June 25. Our samples were only collected on June 29, and we were shifted to the Kandukur quarantine centre. There is no clarity on when the test results will arrive,” a migrant worker said.
Staff crunch hits testing at Ongole GGH
A supervisor of a company based in Bellary, Karnataka, too had a similar experience. He reached the district on June 23 and was taken to the Singarayakonda quarantine centre the same day. “On June 29, they collected my samples, and since then, we were not given any information on when the results will arrive. At least 50 people are lodged here and there are washrooms only for 10-15 people,” he complained.
Admitting that there is a delay in getting results of coronavirus tests, Dr Muralikrishna Reddy, deputy superintendent, Ongole GGH said, “We are facing a serious problems with respect to testing as we are short-staffed. Our TrueNat testing capacity is 400 and VRDL is 1,000 per day (in three shifts). But about 2,000 samples are collected daily.
As of now, results of about 2,500 samples are pending.” On the other hand, the district administration is trying to enhance its testing capacity. Authorities are also seeking additional accommodation to house infectees.
As the number of cases is rising, the authorities at the district Covid-19 hospital are preparing to shift some patients, who were asymptomatic, presumptive positive and having very mild symptoms, to the Ongole IIIT campus and to a corporate hospital.
“We are arranging additional beds in the GGH and going to shift those with very mild symptoms to the IIIT campus quarantine centres,” Dr D Sree Ramulu, superintendent, Ongole GGH, explained.
Not enough staff for testing
“We are facing serious problems with respect to testing as we are short-staffed. Our TrueNat testing capacity is 400 and VRDL is 1,000 per day. But about 2,000 samples are collected daily, said Ongole GGH deputy superintendent Dr Muralikrishna Reddy.