From Tuesday night, all passengers coming from the 12 at-risk countries to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad, have to undergo RT-PCR tests. Further, they have to wait at the airport till they receive the results.
A private laboratory is conducting the tests at the airport — located on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The time to receive the results depends on the money spent for the tests. Lesser the waiting time to receive the results, more is the cost.
“Those who test positive will be isolated at Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS), Gachibowli, which is declared as government institutional isolation centre. Two floors have been identified for the purpose. They will be taken directly from the airport to the hospital in a separate ambulance,” said Telangana’s Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.
Those who test negative will be sent to quarantine at home for 14 days. They will be tested again on the eighth day.
The senior health official said that regardless of the time it takes to receive the reports, passengers from the 12 countries cannot leave the airport without receiving the results.
The State government in Decemeber 2020 has slashed the prices of RT-PCR tests at lab to ₹ 500, and ₹ 750 if samples are collected from home. When asked about the high prices charged by the private lab at RGIA, Dr. Srinivasa clarified that the lab too is charging ₹ 500 for the tests.
“But some passengers want results in half-an-hour or an hour. Usually, it takes four to six hours to receive the results. But the reports can be received in 30 minutes using some equipment. More money has to be paid to receive the test reports in half-an-hour. This depends on individual passengers,” the Director Public Health explained.
The tests have already begun at the airport. Around 41 people have arrived from the at risk countries on Monday. But none of them have tested positive.
