40 labs fined Rs 20 lakh for delaying Covid test results: Karnataka Deputy CM

Forty laboratories have been fined Rs 20.20 lakh for delaying the delivery of Covid-19 test results, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said Monday.

Narayan was given this information by Additional Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, who is the nodal officer in charge of Covid-19 testing, during a review meeting.

This includes nine government labs and 31 private ones.

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“The government asked all labs to deliver the results within 24 hours. But some labs are not understanding the gravity of the situation by delaying the results,” Narayan, the Covid-19 task force chairperson, said.

“Action has been taken since May 8. The total number of cases where results were found to be delayed for more than 24 hours is 10,103. Of them, 3,034 cases belong to the government labs and the rest from private. The labs have been fined Rs 200 for each delayed result,” he said.

According to Narayan’s office, the labs that have the most delayed results are: MedGenome Labs Ltd (1,100 cases), Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (862 cases), Eurofins Clinical Genetics India Pvt Ltd (659 cases), Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory of Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College (156 cases) and Lifecell International Pvt Ltd (144 cases).

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Also, five labs have been penalised for sharing Covid-19 positive reports without uploading them to the ICMR portal. Show-cause notices have been issued to 41 labs for the delay in uploading the samples, Narayan said.

During the meeting, Narayan directed officials to ramp up testing in nine districts that have a high number of active cases. “Door-to-door testing should be done for those with symptoms,” he said. “For every positive patient found, four primary contacts should be tested,” he added.

Shalini informed the minister that testing was affected in Chamarajanagar due to lack of kits. “I’ve directed RAT and RT-PCR kits to be sent there immediately,” Narayan said.

3 lakh Amphotericin B vials

Narayan said the government had decided to place an invitation for quotation (IFQ) to procure three lakh vials of Amphotericin B (50 mg) for the treatment of mucormycosis or 'black fungus'. At a meeting with senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez, the nodal officer for drug supplies, Narayan was informed that there was no shortage of any other drug, including Remdesivir.