‘Not much pendency in Agra’

AGRA: The lab at Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, is used to test about 1,500 samples, including some from nearby districts, a day, according to Satish Chand Verma, the chief medical superintendent (CMS) at the district hospital.

Dr Verma said the labs in Agra and at the veterinary college in Mathura were catering to the testing requirements of Agra Division comprising Agra, Mathura, Mainpuri and Firozabad districts. “We have four testing machines at Sarojini Naidu Medical College (SNMC) each having the capacity to test 200 to 250 samples a day,” the CMS said

“There is another machine at JALMA Institute in Agra where about 500 to 600 samples are brought every day and tested. There are three TrueNat machines — two at the SN Medical College and Hospital and one at the district hospital. These test 50 to 55 samples every day,” Dr Verma said.

“There is an RT-PCR sample testing machine at the veterinary college in Mathura which tests 200 to 250 samples every day and assists in checking samples from Mathura,” he said.

The availability of rapid antigen test kits has augmented the testing capacity by 400 to 500 in Agra division, comprising the four districts of Agra, Mathura, Firozabad and Mainpuri.

“These testing centres are functioning to their full capacity. There is not much of a pendency. But still there is a pendency of about 30 to 40 samples every day at these centers,” he said. “We make full efforts to provide test reports in 36 hours, barring a few exceptions,” the CMS said.

“In Agra alone, 600 to 800 samples are test in a day through RT-PCR method. TrueNat machines test another 50 to 55 cases. About 300 samples are tested with rapid antigen kits, he added. Agra reported its first positive case, five in one go, on March 2. These were also the first cases from Uttar Pradesh. There were no deaths in March. Since April, there have been 97 deaths till date.

Dr Verma denied deaths due to delay in reporting. He held that deaths were mostly the outcome of co-morbidity as patients were found suffering from other diseases and they were brought late to hospital when they had to be placed on ventilator or required oxygen support.