WHEN MORE THAN JUST SAMPLE IS ON TEST
LUCKNOW: Time is of the essence in winning the Covid-19 battle. But when there is an alleged delay in getting test report, suspected coronavirus patients and their family members go through many anxious moments. By then, the time lost makes it that much harder to deliver the knockout punch to the virus. For instance, a 43-yearold resident of Indira Nagar gave his Covid sample on July 22. He tested negative and his report came on July 25. Till then, he had shifted his entire family to the first floor of the house. He himself stayed on ground floor in isolation for three days. His is not a solitary example.
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, alleged delay in getting test reports gives anxious moments to suspected patients and their family members. Here’s a look at the testing scenario in major districts of the state even as efforts are on to increase daily testing to one lakh samples per day across UP
LUCKNOW: Time is of the essence in winning the Covid-19 battle. But when there is an alleged delay in getting test report, suspected coronavirus patients and their family members go through many anxious moments. By then, the time lost makes it that much harder to deliver the knockout punch to the virus.
For instance, a 43-year-old resident of Indira Nagar gave his Covid sample on July 22. He tested negative and his report came on July 25. Till then, he had shifted his entire family to the first floor of the house. He himself stayed on the ground floor in isolation for over three days.
His is not a solitary example. A woman from Bangla Bazar, whose daughter tested positive two days ago, said, “My daughter’s anxiety level was so high that she locked herself inside the bathroom until her report came on the third day after sampling. She locked herself to save us from infection as we live in a oneroom rented accommodation.”
According to the health officials, Uttar Pradesh tested 71,881 samples in the last 24 hours and efforts are being made to make it one lakh per day. Till now, a total of 18,34,297 tests have been done. Many of the tests are done via RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) method, considered the gold standard of Covid tests. The remaining samples are tested with other methods such as TrueNat machines and rapid antigen tests.
Experts have cautioned that the delay in reporting can be a cause of concern for both the patient and the community. Maximum tests should be conducted on RT-PCR, which has high precision, they said.
“Report should come the same day. When you give a report on the third or fourth day, crucial time is lost. By the time, the identified patient is brought to hospi tal. The phase of peak infection starts getting over,” said Prof TN Dhol, former head of the department of microbiology at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).
He said, “RT-PCR is the gold standard to test and identify cases early and accurately. Satellite testing centres should be made and RT-PCR machines should be placed for every 2 lakh population. In a city such as Lucknow, there should be at least 100 RT-PCR machines placed in different areas and not just at two or three centres like King George’s Medical University or PGI.”
Sample this. A group of outsourcing staff working for one of the health department offices got their report after four days. Till then, some of them had virtually themselves inside their homes.
“We live in a two-room set. For four days, I kept myself inside one room. The fear of testing positive was such that until the report came, I didn’t step out of the house,” said a staff member.
“Anxiety lowers immunity, which is ultimate weapon against Covid-19. Whether a person is actually positive or not, anxiety will make him weak against the virus,” said Dr PK Gupta former president of Indian Medical Association, Lucknow.
“The climate is favourable for infection to spread. During monsoon, droplets spread infection to more people.In this period, a higher spike in cases can be seen,” said Prof Dhol..