Mahakumbh: U’khand orders probe against 9 testing labs
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Thursday ordered a probe into the operations of the nine private Covid-19 testing laboratories that conducted tests of the visitors during the Haridwar Mahakumbh, after one of them was found to have allegedly issued fake test reports for least 50,000 samples, said a state minister.
The claim is based on state’s chief controlling officer (CCO) of Covid-19 Dr Abhishek Tripathi’s preliminary inquiry into allegation of fake Covid-19 tests during Mahakumbh. “We have ordered a probe on all the nine private testing laboratories with which the Mela administration had signed a contract to conduct the Covid test of those coming to attend the mega religious fair. It was ordered after the state’s Covid CCO in his report to state health secretary confirmed the irregularities in about one lakh Covid-19 tests conducted by the laboratory in question,” said state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal, adding that the laboratory in question has been “blacklisted.” “State director general of health has issued a general order from the health department to initiate probe on the remaining eight other private testing laboratories. The government won’t spare anyone found involved in the irregularities,” he added. A senior health department official said the irregularities came up after ICMR asked the state health department to conduct a probe.
The official said the CCO said a private laboratory informed the health department that it conducted about one lakh tests.