Testing capacity now 7,500/day in Haryana

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 30

From a position where all samples were being sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune at the start of the Covid pandemic, Haryana had now built the capacity of testing more than 7,500 samples in a day within the state.

Days before the ICMR removed the cap of Rs 4,500 on Covid tests in private laboratories to make it competitive, Haryana had reduced rates for tests in these laboratories.

With the number of Covid cases witnessing a spike, Haryana enhanced its testing. Till today, it had tested 1,14,683 samples by real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.

Rajeev Arora, Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, said the state had the facility for 5,000 tests in a day at 11 government laboratories and 6,900 tests at five private laboratories in Gurugram. Of the 6,900 tests per day capacity at private laboratories, capacity of 2,500 tests was reserved for the state as these laboratories also tested residents of Delhi, Noida and other areas in the NCR.

Among government laboratories, the PGIMS in Rohtak has a capacity of 1,000 tests, BPS Medical College for Women in Khanpur Kalan and Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal 900 tests each, ESIC Medical College in Faridabad 500 tests, the SHKM Medical College in Nalhar and the THSTI in Faridabad 400 tests each, the NRCE in Hisar and Civil Hospital in Panchkula 300 tests each, IIMTECH in Mohali 200 tests and Ambala polyclinic and PGI in Chandigarh 50 each.

“This capacity is without pooling. With pooling of three to five samples, the capacity will increase further,” said Arora. Among private laboratories, Dr Lal Pathlab has a capacity of 3,000 tests, Core Diagnostics 1,500 tests and SRL Diagnostics, Pathkind Lab and Modern Diagnostics 800 tests each.

Ever since Haryana initiated an inquiry against SRL Diagnostics after some samples which tested positive there came negative in government laboratories, the state government had stopped sending samples there. However, since the laboratory was approved by the ICMR, private persons were free to get their samples tested there, said Arora.

On May 12, Haryana issued a circular, reducing the rate charged by private laboratories from Rs 4,500. “Private laboratories will charge Rs 2,500 if the sample is delivered at their Gurugram premises, Rs 3,200 if sample is to be collected by the civil hospital, with logistics, testing and reporting by laboratories, and Rs 3,950 if sample collection, logistics, testing and reporting are to be done by private laboratories,” he said.

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