HYDERABAD: Even after a year since the State established its RT-PCR testing protocols, the time taken to receive results is very high, almost three to four days. Citizens, especially those in GHMC limits, said that despite all major government labs being located in the city, the high sample turnaround leads to delay in detection of cases and even containing the spread of the virus.
According to the medical bulletin, every day, more than 500 samples are pending for testing. It is learnt that the delay is because samples from GHMC limits are being sent to Osmania Medical College (OMC) to be sorted and segregated. From there, these samples are sent to the various designated government labs in the city such as those at Gandhi Hospital, CCMB and Fever Hospital, which then analyse the samples.
Even though technological advancements allow RT-PCR machines to generate results in three hours, the additional time is taken for transferring samples.
“I gave my sample on Saturday evening and there was no response till Monday. In fact, I was asked to go to the centre to collect my reports on Tuesday. All the patients at the centre were put through the same process, which raises the question of why the results are not being delivered in time on the individual’s phone,” said a patient from Erragadda Ayurveda Hospital.
Citizens argue that even without the test results, workplaces are often forcing them to report to duty despite there being a possibility of infecting others. “I had given my sample at the Area Hospital Pattancheru and it was only after four days that the results came through, declaring that I am Covid-positive. During the waiting period, it was difficult to isolate myself,” added another citizen.
“At the lab, it takes barely three to four hours for a batch of 94 samples to be tested. We are getting just 400 odd samples per day, as compared to the 150 before. Even then we are able to manage to test them within a day’s time,” said a senior official from Gandhi Hospital, which tests samples from Medchal district.
At OMC, which acts as a segregation centre and a testing facility, has the capacity to test 400 samples more per day than the existing number of 400-500 per day. However, the time taken to transfer samples from the PHCs to the OMC and then eventually to the labs is adding to the waiting hours. On the contrary, private labs are dishing out the results in less than 12 hours.
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With a second wave of the pandemic building momentum over the last one week, several political leaders have been contracting Covid-19. On Tuesday, TPCC working president and MP Revanth Reddy said he tested positive for the disease.
High turnaround rate may lead to delay in detection
The high sample turnaround leads to delay in detection of cases and even containing the spread of the virus. Every day, more than 500 samples are pending for testing.