KARAIKAL: Even as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was confirmed in the country on Thursday, RT-PCR testing in a government facility is yet to turn a reality in Karaikal as the machine for it that was bought to the district months ago is yet to be made operational.
While the Union government had recently instructed states and Union Territories to improve testing for prompt and early identification of cases, the RT-PCR machine that was bought to Karaikal two months ago to ramp up the government’s ability to identify and tackle Covid-19 isn’t functional yet.
"We have got the necessary approvals and the technicians to operate it, but we are still sorting out the challenges in the installation of the machine. There is some delay in troubleshooting the set-up. We are hopeful of bringing it into operation in two weeks," said a senior official from the Health department.
The machine was bought from Chennai and is being set up in the model lab at the general hospital in Karaikal. It can test 96 swab samples at a time and give results in a span of around three hours.
According to sources, besides the availability of other modes of testing like TrueNAT and Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), there is a private RT-PCR testing lab in Vinayaka Missions Medical College & Hospitals in the district. The Health department, however, is sending swab samples to the Government Tiruvarur Medical College Hospital as the latter is a testing lab approved under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and it is free.
Meanwhile, the Health department in Karaikal confirmed that the new Covid-19 variant is yet to be detected in Puducherry. They are looking up to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to intimate about those flying into the region from abroad.
Officials have advised those who return from abroad to get tested at least thrice, like once after arrival, after seven days, and finally after two weeks, to confirm the absence of Omicron variant in them.
When contacted, District Collector Arjun Sharma said, “The issues would be sorted out soon, and the testing lab would be operational in a week. We will also exercise our available options like the RT-PCR testing lab in Vinayaka missions medical college and perform Rapid Antigen Test, if needed. RT-PCR will remain our standard procedure.”