Filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan alleges long wait for swab collection for COVID-19 test

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala may be faring better in tackling the pandemic when compared to other states, but the long wait for Covid-19 testing at the government hospitals is becoming a huge concern for the public, especially as the state stares at the possibility of a community spread. Suspected Covid-19 patients, who arrive at the fever OP of government hospitals to give their swab samples for testing, are forced to wait for eight to 10 hours in the state capital.

Filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, in a social media post, shared the dreadful experience he encountered at the COVID- 19 OP at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. In his post, he said that patients arriving at the clinic are forced to wait for a long time, thereby exposing themselves for several hours.

“When I arrived at the General Hospital OP, I saw around 35 people sitting under a tarpaulin shed, all eagerly waiting for their turn. It was around 7pm then. But even after waiting for three hours, I didn’t get called. When I asked them when my turn will come, they were surprised by my query, as even the person who came at 2pm was waiting there like me,” shared Sanal.

“Those coming with just a normal fever or flu could end up contracting Covid-19 after arriving at the hospital. It’s not like the government cannot fix such issues. They launched the BevQ app in such short notice. Likewise, an online queuing system should be introduced to avoid such long waits at hospitals,” said Sanal, who left the hospital without giving the sample.

Inadequate facilities for swab collection and lack of human resources seem to be the main reason for the delay at the hospital. “Kerala has had a good track record so far. But such issues need to be fixed,” said the filmmaker.