Even as Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has admitted that the Coronavirus epidemic has been spreading fast in the state, the testing of Covid-19 suspects has not been as fast as it should have been.
According to the chief minister’s own statement, there are nine government testing facilities in the state having a capacity of 1560 per day. So far only 14,962 samples have been tested across the State, which has been in lockdown since March 22.
So, on an average, only 432 samples were tested per day for the last 28 days. At a press conference on March 27, KCR said 25,937 people had been been quarantined in Telangana and they would be completing the 14-day quarantine period by April 7.
But on Sunday, the chief minister said as many as 1,818 persons were still in quarantine. Therefore, of nearly 27,755 suspects, only 14,962 samples have been tested which is too low.
This was pointed out by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee leader Guduru Narayana Reddy. He said the state government was not following the norms set by World Health Organisation (WHO) of "Trace, Test and Treat" to combat the Coronavirus in the State.
“Why the capacity was not fully utilised? We're having lockdown since March 22. On an average, only 432 samples were tested per day for the last 28 days. We could've tested 100 per cent of suspects in just 17 days if we would've utilised all government labs," he said.
Further, the Congress leader strongly condemned the KCR Government for not allowing nine private laboratories like Apollo Hospitals, Vijaya Diagnostics, etc., to conduct COVID-19 although they have been permitted by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
He said that the State Government did not frame the local guidelines to allow private labs to conduct COVID-19 tests. He said that the Supreme Court, in its recent order, clearly stated that the COVID-19 tests should be conduct free of cost and State Government should bear the entire cost.
"Is KCR afraid of additional financial burden if more tests are conducted?" he asked.
"Why we can't test entire population in 292 Containment Zones? Is KCR waiting for some strong symptoms among suspects to conduct tests? Is it not advisable to test someone for the disease before his/her condition deteriorates further?" he asked.
