In the wake of the sudden rise in demand for Covid tests, private labs in Ranchi are flooded with swab samples causing a delay of 48 hours or more in the final report.
RT PCR test reports were earlier handed to people within four hours.
“We usually collected about 200 samples every day in mid-March. However, in April, the count of samples collected on a daily basis has gone up to 1000,” said a swab collection staff at city-based J. Sharan Laboratory.
“We have so many swab samples for testing that delivering the test report on the same day has become almost impossible,” he added.
The health department has directed private labs to prioritise those with comorbid conditions and symptoms while conducting tests.
Health secretary K.K. Soan, at a meeting with private laboratories, asked the labs to provide test results to people with comorbid conditions and Covid symptoms as early as possible.
According to government records, around 7000 swab samples are collected for Covid test in Ranchi every day. In the wake of the growing cases of infection in the state capital, the government has set up new testing centres in urban as well as rural areas of the district.
From Monday onward, Covid testing booths will be set up at Marwari Bhavan, Kokar Industrial Area, Morhabadi OP, Doranda, Station Road, Health Centre Dhurwa, Risaldar, CMPDI and Hatia, a press communique from the health department stated. So far, free Covid tests were conducted at Sadar Hospital, Ranchi Railway Station, Hatia Railway Station, ITI Bus Stand, Khadgada Bus Stand, Zila School and Sainik Market on MG Road.
Besides increasing the number of Covid testing booths in the city, the health department has also directed the Ranchi district administration to send Covid testing teams to areas with a high-positivity rate and set up free Covid testing camps there.
Ranchi accounts for almost half of the over 12,000 active cases of Covid-19 infection in Jharkhand according to government data. The district, as per data with NHM, has 5,927 active cases of infection, the highest among the 24 districts in the state. The district has also reported 46 of the 99 Covid deaths in Jharkhand during the past one month.