New Delhi:
Delhi has witnessed a rise in sale of self-testing kits for COVID-19, while private labs are having less people approaching them for the RT-PCR tests.
According to private laboratory owners, there has been a rampant increase in the sale of self-testing kits in the city, resulting in lesser people coming to labs for RT-PCR testing. Furthermore, this is causing difficulties for health workers to trace, isolate and track infected people. Lab owners also claimed that people are becoming more dependent on home testing kits than RT-PCR.
Dr DS Rana, Chairman, Sir Gangaram Hospital said, “The number of COVID-19 cases is coming down altogether but we must also not overlook the home testing kits which people are opting for once the panic phase is sliding off. Also owing to its lesser severity, people are not opting for much tests. They are isolating themselves and taking precautions.”
Dr Arvind Lal, Executive Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs, told ANI, “Testing has come down which is definitely a good sign. A week ago, Lal PathLabs sample collection was 12,000 per day, but now it has reduced to 9,000, which is a 25 per cent reduction. In Delhi, we were doing 3,600 testings every day and now it is 2,800.”
Another Lab PRO said, “Initially the situation was completely unknown and people started panicking and panic definitely increases the testing. Even people who were having viral fevers wanted to get tested. Now the situation has turned better and the testing has reduced if not significantly but at least by 25 per cent to 30 per cent now in Delhi compared to last few weeks.”
“Moreover many are opting for self-testing kits,” said the PRO.
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