18 of 1,800 home quarantined opt for the coronavirus test
MUMBAI: Only 18 of the 1,800 home quarantined have opted for the test for Sars-cov-2, despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) coming up with ways to test more people.
The BMC contacted the people after five private laboratories got approval from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct tests for Covid-19. “Our operators give two options – if people want to go for the swab test for free, they can approach Kasturba Hospital. If they don’t want to stand in queue and want to get their reports faster, they can opt for private labs at a price of ₹4,500 per test,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC. “Our first priority was to contact the people who are home quarantined with travel history or who have come in a contact with any infected patient,” he added.
When Covid-19 was first reported in Mumbai, there was only one state laboratory –
National Institute of Virology, Pune. But with growing cases in the city, the BMC has tied up with private laboratories –Thyrocare, Suburban Diagnostics, SRL Diagnostics, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd and Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital. Other than this, BMC has also tied up with Hinduja, Lilavati Charitable Hospital and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, but they are yet to start functioning. People can call the helpline number of the
BMC, which is managed by medical staff, to seek an appointment for the test. Considering the symptoms, the BMC approves their request. Also, people can even directly call private labs, which then send their staff home. From Saturday, the BMC started taking request for tests from those who have no travel history. “On Saturday, 1,000 people called, of which, 366 requests have been approved and assigned to different private labs,” said Kakani.