'Allow more labs in Mumbai to test for COVID-19'

A BMC health worker collects a swab sample of a Dadar resident. Pics/Ashish Raje

The number of daily COVID-19 tests in the city has gone up to 5,300 in July, while it was 4,400 in June. However, the test positivity rate (TPR) of 21.7 per cent is still very high against the World Health Organization's (WHO) standard of 5 per cent.

While it is necessary to lower the TPR by increasing tests to eliminate the possibility of inadequate testing, the BMC says it has almost reached saturation point in terms of the number of tests. Doctors have said that more and more labs should be allowed to do the tests to cover more high-risk contacts and co-morbid people. A senior officer from the BMC, on condition of anonymity, said, "The number of tests has almost reached the saturation point. It cannot be increased further. All gates for testing are open now."

BMC health workers sort test samples at Dadar

In Mumbai, 6,579 tests were conducted on July 14, the highest till date. Out of these, 5,279 (80 per cent) were conducted in private labs. But the average number of tests in July is only 5,326 with a TPR of 21.7 per cent. It means that for every 100 people tested, 22 are positive. A high TPR indicates inadequate testing and to meet the WHO's recommended standards, Mumbai needs to ramp up testing at least five folds. However, the number is not increasing despite BMC having allowed citizens to get tests without prescription.

Also Read: Private labs to join BMC for antigen testing in Malad, Jogeshwari

In June, the average number of tests was 4,408 and the TPR was 28 per cent. The BMC had restricted people from doing tests without prescriptions. Even high-risk contacts of positive patients were tested only after nine days of quarantine. The BMC had made the rules by citing ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines. But on July 7, the municipal commissioner allowed everyone to get tested from private laboratories without prescriptions. The BMC too ordered one lakh kits of antigen tests and started it in North Mumbai last week. These efforts increased the tests by merely 20 per cent.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president, Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra

"The BMC teams are tracing on an average, 10 contacts per positive patient and are trying to do testing of all symptomatic patients. There is no stone left unturned to reach out to people. Every citizen is free to call the lab and get the test as no prescription is needed," said Iqbal Singh Chahal, municipal commissioner.

"The number of tests has to be increased by allowing more private labs and providing test kits to them. How can BMC trace and treat people without adequate tests?" said Dr Nilima Vaidya-Bhamre, secretary of the Association of Medical Consultants. "The number of tests is definitely inadequate. There are many ways to increase it. First, the BMC is testing only three to four high-risk contacts. The number should be increased to at least 25. Then the co-morbid, aged people in hotspots and Containment Zones should be tested," said Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president of Indian Medical Association, Maharastra.

Dr Bhondwe added, "The BMC has procured one lakh kits for antigen tests, 15 tests can be done with each. There are only around 48 labs in the state with an NABL accreditation to do antigen testing. The state government should ask the centre to let go of the norm of having NABL accreditation and allow MD pathologist labs with 10 years of experience to do the testing. It will allow more than 2,000 labs in Mumbai to do the tests."

"BMC is shrugging off its responsibility of testing. Many suspected patients don't get tested. Even in Dharavi, the number of tests is less. These are tactics of the administration to show less number of positive cases," said Prabhakar Shinde, group leader of BJP in the BMC.

5,326
Average no. of daily tests being done in July

4,408
Average no. of daily tests done in June

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