Covid-19 testers face testing times

Frontline warriors have been working without a break since March 2020 when UP reported its first case. They say they have seen over 50 of their colleagues die due to Covid since last year

LUCKNOW : The government’s advisory to “stay indoors” isn’t meant for Covid-19 testers during the pandemic.

Every day, these members of the state health department’s rapid response teams (RRTs) are out, testing suspected Covid-19 positive patients. The daily drill begins at 8am and stretches well into the night.

The frontline warriors have been working without a break and, usually without lunch, since March 2020 when the state reported its first case.

There are 27,700 testers in the rural areas and 155,250 in the urban areas of the state. They have seen more than 50 of their colleagues die due to the Covid-19 infection since last year, the testers say.

The numbers include seven deaths this year so far; the latest being that of Ritesh Raj Mishra, who couldn’t be saved though the state’s law minister Brijesh Pathak had pursued his case and ensured that he got a bed and treatment at King George’s Medical University (KGMU), now a dedicated Covid-19 facility.

“He was young and had been married just two years ago,” says Yogesh Upadhyaya, the general secretary of Joint NHM (National Health Mission) Employee Union, UP.

Upadhyaya, a lab technician, is in home isolation these days.

As is Arisha Rehman, the young lab technician, who like Upadhyaya, says they feel they are part of the war against Covid-19. “There are many hardships. But then someone will have to do this job. If God chose us for the moment, then so be it,” says Rehman who is among the nearly 25% women staffers of the testing team.

Many of them admit that they have either infected their families or run the risk of doing so, despite safeguards that include, in many cases, bathing out in the open, before entering their houses. “I remember not having gone near my parents since the second wave started. If something happens to them, I won’t be able to forgive myself,” says a Covid tester, adding that he is proud to be a “corona warrior”.

“Just as a soldier is out there guarding the borders, taking the enemy bullet to ensure safety of the citizens, similarly our teams are braving infection and fear factor for a larger cause, but we have demanded weekly off and beds reserved for the testers,” says Upadhyaya.

“The promised Rs 50 lakh compensation for Mukesh Singh, our fellow lab technician whom we lost last year after he got infected, is yet to happen,” he said. Each day, the testing team comprising lab technicians both on roll and on contract and staff nurses are given locations for testing, the number of which has been increasing.

“We have breakfast when we leave home. Lunch is usually out of the question, both due to workload as well as due to health concerns because we can only eat after sanitising ourselves,” a Covid-19 tester says.

“My parents in Ballia are anxious about my health. They want me to quit the job and come home. But I told them that I am a corona warrior,” says another tester.

A woman tester, who asks not to be named, says, “Though we have PPE kits, it’s practically impossible to wear them right through. So, unless we are doing these tests in let’s say bus and railway stations, where the infection rate is much higher, we prefer not to wear these kits. In such hot weather, it is choking.”

“Being a woman, we have other problems too. For instance, answering nature’s call is an issue. Not many want people us inside their homes at the moment and so we mostly do their testing outside. Only in extreme cases do we seek permission to use washrooms,” a woman tester says.

Their monthly wages depend on the nature of their employment. It’s Rs 11,000 for outsourced lab technicians, Rs 15,000 for contractual lab technicians and Rs 18,000 for staff nurses. Even after visiting all the locations for testing, the drill isn’t over till they have deposited the samples in the laboratory and then returned the equipment and tool kits back at the Covid command centre.

“Usually, even if we finish testing by 8pm, it’s not before 10pm that many of us reach home where sanitising ourselves consumes more time. Our demands are simple,” says one of them.