SHILLONG: As institutionally quarantined people continue to suffer owing to delay in obtaining test reports, the state government has decided to take multiple capacity-building steps, including outsourcing 300 samples testing at Jorhat-based CSIR and possible introduction of mobile testing units.
Health Minister AL Hek on Tuesday admitted that people have to wait for days and weeks at a stretch to get their test results as a huge number of samples are being taken for testing.
Informing that the government will ramp up testing facilities in the state, Hek said that the government was examining the options of outsourcing the testing of samples to experts and other hospitals. He observed that a mobile testing unit was also an option and will be put to use when the health authorities will feel the need.
CSIR to test 300 samples daily
The testing capacity of the state for COVID-19 is all set to get a boost after CSIR – North East Institute of Science & Technology, Jorhat agreed to test 300 samples on a daily basis.
DHS (MI) Dr Aman War said that CSIR in Jorhat has just activated eight RT-PCR machines with an installed capacity to conduct 3000 tests daily.
“I had a discussion with the Administrative Officer of CSIR and they have agreed to accommodate 300 samples every day,” he said.
Though the distance between Meghalaya and Jorhat is quite far, he said that the person who will take the samples from Meghalaya would have to stay there for a day and results of the samples would be declared the next day.
Besides, the state government is also going to increase the testing capacity of Pasteur Institute and the work is going on. The Department is also looking to activate the RT-PCR machines of other departments for increasing Meghalaya’s testing capacity.
Earlier, he said that the department is strengthening the infrastructure for C and D Category cases and even private hospitals like H Gordon Roberts Hospital were given ventilators by the government.
The state at the moment has capacity of conducting 800 tests every day with NEIGRIHMS conducting bulk of the tests at around 600 tests per day, while Pasteur Institute and Tura Civil Hospital conduct 100 tests each every day.
The DHS was sanguine that community spread had not yet taken place in the state while maintaining that Shillong had around 470 cases and “it is not even one per cent of the total population of the city”.
Meanwhile, on the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the state, Hek said, “The overall situation is very uncertain and difficult to predict. The situation is still grim”.
He said that the most important thing for everyone now is to strictly follow the laid down protocols.