The city government assured the Delhi High Court on Monday that from now on reports of COVID-19 tests will be received within 1-2 days from the date the sample is received by the lab concerned.
The Delhi government said there are 23 accredited labs that undertake COVID-19 testing in the Capital that have a collective capacity of conducting 3,000-3,500 tests per day. Out of the said 23 accredited labs, 10 are in the public sector and 13 are in the private sector.
It clarified that as on April 29, 7,794 reports were pending, out of which 5,944 were pending at the end of National Institute of Biologicals (NIB), Noida. After finding that the reports were not being received within a reasonable time from NIB, Noida, the Delhi government has stopped sending any further samples to the NIB.
It further stated that till Sunday night, 3,790 reports were pending with the accredited labs which will be received within a day or two.
The Delhi government said it was cognisant of the delay in receiving reports and has dealt with the said situation without losing time.
The Delhi government’s response came on a petition filed by advocate Rakesh Malhotra who raised the issue of delay in furnishing reports after conducting tests for COVID-19 on suspected people.
Mr. Malhotra contended that due to the delay the contact tracing is also getting delayed and the infection is multiplying rapidly in Delhi.
However, in view of the submission made by the city government, a Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad directed the city government to ensure that COVID-19 samples sent to the accredited labs are processed swiftly and the results declared within 24-48 hours.
The court also directed the Delhi government to update its website to reflect the correct number of tests that are being conducted in the city, mention the number of cases that are positive or negative and state the number of results that are pending after the tests are conducted.