Labs told to speed up as 800 results from Noida & Ghaziabad pending

Snehil Sinha | TNN | Updated: Apr 30, 2020, 11:21 IST

Picture for representational purpose only.

NOIDA/GHAZIABAD The reports of more than 800 samples — 500 from Noida and 300 Ghaziabad — that had been sent for Covid-19 testing are pending, some of them for nearly two weeks, officials said.
With several people complaining they are being forced to stay in quarantine or isolation longer than required, officials have asked the two testing centres — Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida and National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) in Sector 62 — to expedite the process. Moreover, the centres have been told to prioritise and first release the reports of those who have been in isolation or quarantine the longest.

Till mid-April, Noida was sending samples to Aligarh. GIMS and NIB started testing around that time. Initially, GIMS had problems with some batches, including one that had 86 samples that showed ‘indeterminate’ results. However, the retesting was successful. The centre can process 60 samples in one shift and 160 in two shifts in a day. Officials say pendency has reduced and the process has been streamlined.
It is at NIB, though, that most of the samples have been stuck. The lab can handle about 1,000 samples in a day. However, it receives samples from other parts of UP, and states like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Sources told TOI that in all, there are nearly 10,000 samples pending at the centre.
Officials at NIB said that the delays were because of the high number of samples being received. “Once the sample is received, we can test it the same or next day and give the report the day after. But we have been receiving many more samples than the daily capacity,” said Dr Anup Anvikar, senior scientist with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), deputed for the testing centre at NIB.
Officials told TOI that the delays in the reports were either due to technical issues with the machines as both testing centres were relatively new, or because of samples turning unviable.
Narendra Bhooshan, the nodal officer for handling the district’s Covid-19 response, said the issue of delays would be sorted soon. “NIB has been asked to keep a capacity of at least 500 samples for samples from UP. It was asked earlier as well to expedite reports but it has not been able to do so. The matter has been taken up at a higher level,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ghaziabad, which sends samples to Noida and National Centre for Disease Control, has been facing similar delays. Around six medical staffers of CHC Dasna, who came in contact with the centre’s superintendent who was found Covid positive, are still waiting for results of tests done on April 15. In the meantime, the superintendent has recovered and returned home.
The district is now sending samples to Meerut Medical College for the past four days, chief medical officer Dr NK Gupta said, adding that the reports come in two-three days.