Ambala admn starts new system to provide early Covid results
Tribune News Service
Ambala, May 25
To provide early results of the RT-PCR tests, the Ambala District administration has started a new system wherein, an SMS is sent within 6-8 hours to all patients who have recently been tested for Covid.
Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate Utsav Shah, said, “Earlier, the lab was sending the results to the Health Department after processing all batches of the day, then the Health Department was sharing the data with the administration and then the patients used to get their results. The whole process was taking a period of around 24 to 36 hours. But in the new process, the lab will share the results with the district administration after processing every single batch, instead of processing the complete lot of batches, and then the results will be sent to the concerned person on his mobile number through the district NIC office in the form of an SMS. The entire process will be completed within 6-8 hours.”
Will lead to quick isolation
Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate Utsav Shah said the initiative was taken to inform patients of their status as soon as possible that they could isolate themselves and resort to Covid appropriate behaviour immediately.
“The SMS sent clearly mentions whether the patient had tested negative or positive. This initiative was taken with a view to informing the positive patients of their Covid medical status as soon as possible so that they could isolate themselves and resort to Covid appropriate behaviour immediately. A message to citizens testing negative is also sent so that the citizens are informed of their test results in a timely manner to reduce their anxiety and anticipation of the results. The SMS also includes the link to the portal from where, the Covid test report can be downloaded after 24 hours of the testing,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma said, “The objective of this entire initiative is to ensure that the citizens do not have to make multiple calls to the district or health officials for their test results and to avoid the potential positive patients stepping out of their homes to find their test results/reports and contaminate other people on the way”.
In another initiative, the local administration has roped in 22 IMA doctors for tele-consultation service.
“Ambala residents, who are facing any complications due to Covid, will be able to consult doctors through the Covid tele-consultation service. The doctors will be available from 7 am to 11 pm as per their schedule. Their numbers are being shared. They will be answering queries regarding symptoms, dos and don’ts during Covid infection, side effects, after effects, medication, dosage, dietary changes, and vaccination-related information, the DC said.
