NMC to restart accepting samples for RT-PCR test after 2-day gap

Nagpur: Lack of proper system and coordination between the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and five government-run laboratories was a major reason behind no Real Time (RT)-PCR tests at the six centres run by the civic body for two consecutive days.
The NMC on Friday evening announced RT-PCR tests will resume at these centres from Saturday.
On the other hand, three government laboratories whose staffers had tested positive for Covid-19 managed to conduct RT-PCR tests on Thursday and Friday.
IGGMCH deputy medical superintendent Dr Sagar Pande told TOI, “Our laboratory was not closed at all. Some of our staffers had tested positive, yet we conducted tests considering its importance in the prevailing situation. We tested 636 samples on Thursday and around 400 on Friday,” he said.
According to Dr Pande, NMC is sending large number of samples only to IGGMCH daily. “We have told the NMC officials about excess samples and less staff with us. We also test our in-house samples. The NMC should have sent the samples to remaining four laboratories. There should be a system so that NMC distributes samples to five laboratories on alternate days,” he said.
NMC officials said IGGMCH had asked them not to give swabs for 2-3 days due to excess samples and staff shortage after some tested positive on Wednesday. “IGGMCH is nodal agency for receiving and dividing total samples among all the five laboratories.
“On Wednesday, IGGMCH refused to accept samples collected at NMC’s six centres. They were accepted only after we spoke to the office of divisional commissioner. Therefore, we stopped collecting swab samples for RT-PCR on Thursday and Friday and switched to Rapid Antigen test. Today, we were asked to send samples from Saturday,” they said.
Dr Pande said, “IGGMCH is not a nodal agency and was never given any such order in writing by any authority.”
According to NMC officials, IGGMCH has been accepting all samples and dividing it among five laboratories since August 3 when swab collection for RT-PCR tests started at the six centres . “On Wednesday, IGGMCH said conduct Rapid Antigen test and send emergency patients for RT-PCR test either to the hospital or GMCH. We are confused as to what happened in the last two days,” they said.
Testing of many symptomatic and high-risk contacts of positive patients was delayed for two days. A resident of KT Nagar said, “My husband has tested positive at a private laboratory. We have been tested negative in Rapid Antigen. Doctors advised us RT-PCR test. NMC centres said RT-PCR was stopped. We have no faith in private laboratories, so waiting for last two days,” she said.
An NMC staffer at one of the six NMC centres said, “Few people had to return without testing as they cannot afford charges of private laboratories.”
The NMC had opened 34 testing centres, out of which six conduct RT-PCR and remaining Rapid Antigen. Samples of symptomatic patients were being taken at six centres to avoid double testing and wastage of Rapid Antigen kit.
Few days ago, the government had issued algorithm for testing. Accordingly, tests for symptomatic and high-risk contacts of positive patients are to be done only through RT-PCR while Rapid Antigen is to be used only for emergency patients.
Still, NMC is conducting Rapid Antigen at six centres and the same being done at remaining centres.