Mumbai: Covid-19 cases rising, screening ordered, but no test kits

AMID the present surge in Covid-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last week directed its dispensaries to test symptomatic patients as a precautionary measure. However, when mid-day visited five civic dispensaries across the city, it found that not one of them had kits. Krsnaa Diagnostics, which bagged the tender to provide diagnostic services to civic-run health facilities, is yet to provide Covid-19 kits to dispensaries, and neither the staff nor doctors have a clue when they will arrive.

As per the BMC health officials, the testing will soon begin as the service provider is making all the necessary arrangements. Since mid-February, the city has been witnessing a gradual rise in Covid-19 cases. Because of this surge, the active Covid case count in the city has touched 1,079 while that of the state is 3,532.

The Central government has already written a couple of letters to the state health department to ramp up testing. According to data from 1 March to 2 April, in the last 33 days, 42,913 tests were done in Mumbai. An average of 1,300 Covid tests are being conducted daily across the city.

According to experts, very few individuals require hospitalisation. But the testing positivity rate is high and there is a need to conduct more testing to know the extent of the spread. On Thursday, all dispensaries got a message from the civic health department stating that symptomatic patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) should be tested for Covid at dispensaries.

A Covid test is conducted at Kandivli on July 27, 2020. File Pic/Satej Shinde

They were also instructed to record the number of ILI patients tested for Covid and submit a daily report to the additional municipal commissioner. However, besides dispensaries, even peripheral hospitals do not have rapid testing kits and currently, they are sending swabs to Kasturba hospital for testing. Posing as a patient, this reporter visited dispensaries at the BMC headquarters, Parel F-south, Dahisar, Mumbai Central and Bandra asking to be tested.

Also read: As Covid cases rise in Maharashtra, Satara district makes masks mandatory for govt employees, & in banks, colleges

A doctor at one dispensary said, "Covid testing is not available yet. We do not have kits available right now." When mid-day asked Krsnaa Diagnostics staffer posted there to collect samples, she said, "We don't have kits for testing and I don't have an idea when we will get them." The situation was the same at the other centres.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior health official said, "We received directions last week but there are no testing kits available. During the pandemic, separate persons would collect routine and Covid samples but now only one person is doing both tasks. We cannot recommend a test even if patients have symptoms because of a lack of kits." An official from a peripheral hospital said, "We are taking swabs and sending them to Kasturba hospital for confirmation."

When mid-day spoke to Executive Health Officer Dr Mangala Gomare about the matter, she said, "Yes, we have asked the dispensaries to conduct a Covid test. We are in touch with Krsnaa Diagnostics and they assured us that all the necessary arrangements are being done and kits will soon be available. I hope it will start in the next two to three days."

1,079
No of active cases in city

3,532
No of active cases in state

1,300
No of Covid tests conducted