While the government has ramped up the number of rapid antigen tests conducted across the State to quickly detect COVID-19 positive cases, there is a shortage of testing kits in fever clinics. Many who visit the government fever clinics are being sent to other clinics or asked to come another day. This is forcing people to go to private labs to get tests done.
Nodal officer for COVID-19 testing C.N. Manjunath told The Hindu that they had exhausted their stock of antigen tests, which were distributed across the State. “We received two lakh antigen kits on Saturday, which have been distributed. Although we had placed an order for five lakh kits, we got only two lakh. We are expecting another batch of five lakh kits to reach us later this week,” he said. Although they are minimising the number of antigen tests for the time being till new stock comes, the RT-PCR tests were being held “in full swing,” he said. He said that the State government had also approved orders for another 10 lakh antigen kits.
While it takes time to get the results of RT-PCR test, the rapid antigen test results can be given in five to 10 minutes.
At some centres, doctors are citing shortage of testing kits and asking people to return another day. Some fever clinics have also established mobile testing centres and are asking residents to come to a particular location if they want to get tested.
A 30-year-old person working in a private company, who visited one of the government fever clinics in North Bengaluru, said: “I went along with my parents and only I was able to get the rapid antigen test. They did RT-PCR test for my parents as they had shortage of antigen kits. We will now have to wait for a couple of days to get the result. It will be a stressful wait as my father is diabetic.”
However, doctors and medical professionals at some of the clinics say that there is no shortage of testing kits at their centre, but are forced to turn away patients as they do not have adequate staff to conduct these tests. “We are supposed to give the results of rapid antigen tests in a few minutes. But if we have no staff to test, we would rather refer them to another clinic in the vicinity than make them wait,” said a doctor posted at a fever clinic.
At another fever clinic, the staff had been deployed at mobile testing stations and none was available at the centre to conduct tests. “When we tell the people to come to the mobile testing centre, they refuse and tell us they will go to private labs instead,” said another doctor who heads a fever clinic.
