Delhi people struggle to get RT-PCR tests as Covid cases rise

Septuagenarian Aqsa Hussain writhed in pain as she lay on the bed in her first floor apartment in east Delhi with fever and body ache.

Her son Siraj, too had symptoms of Covid-19 and could not step out of their home to get their throat swabs tested for the infectious disease.

A few apartments down the lane, Indira Kaur too faced a similar predicament – unavailability of home collection service to test for Covid-19.

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Those who managed to get their swab samples collected had to wait for at least four days to get their report – all the while facing the uncertainty of testing positive for Covid-19.

An official at SRL Pathlabs said the laboratory was overwhelmed with the number of people seeking Covid-19 tests and some of their technicians too had contracted the disease.

Another issue the diagnostic laboratories were facing was updating of the test reports on the government portal.

Hussain finally managed to convince a technician at a private hospital to collect the swab sample for the Covid-19 test from her residence, but had to wait for four days to get the results.

“With great difficulty I could get an appointment for an RT-PCR test at a private hospital and got the reports after three days,” said Kaur, in her late forties, who was suffering from throat pain and fever.

Both Hussain and Kaur had begun treatment for their symptoms after consultation with the doctors and the medicines as per Covid-19 protocol could begin only after the reports came in.

For Nishant, an architect in neigbouring Noida, sourcing an oxygen cylinder for treatment at home for himself proved to be a tough task.

After frantic phone calls, he could find help in one of the nearby apartment complexes where the clubhouse was turned into Covid Care Centre with oxygen support.

Nishant managed to find a hospital bed for himself after nearly 24-hours with the help of some of his friends.