Noida and Ghaziabad to retest private lab samples found COVID-19 positive

NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Since false positive reports of Covid19 cases have been reported by private labs across Noida and Ghaziabad in past few days, the health department has decided to retest all samples that have been confirmed positive by private labs. Officials said that getting false positive reports from some private labs not only create panic among residents but also increase the positive cases count.

As per a senior health officer, the move came after over a dozen false positive cases each in Noida and Ghaziabad were reported by private labs.

The administration has already issued show-cause notices to six private labs while an FIR has also been registered against another private laboratory.

“Only labs authorised by the ICMR for testing Covid samples are reliable while several reports from private labs which not authorised by ICMR are being received daily. There are around 32 such private labs which are authorised by ICMR and most of them are reliable and can be trusted. However, we have been getting false reports from some private labs who turn out of be negative when tested at the government labs. We have directed private labs to follow protocols and safety measures,” said Suhas LY, DM, GB Nagar.

On Thursday, the Ghaziabad district reported 25 positive cases out of which 18 positive reports were received from private labs. “All these samples have been sent to government labs for retesting but the patients are admitted to Covid designated hospital and as per protocol they are under treatment,” said a senior officer of Ghaziabad district administration. The health department of both the districts are also preparing a list of authorised centres or mobile collection vehicles that are affiliated to these ICMR accredited labs to trust the credibility of sample collection process.