Increase COVID-19 Rapid Testings: Court To AAP Government Amid Rise In Cases

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the AAP government to try to increase the COVID test methodology, the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), in light of the increase in coronavirus cases in the national capital.

A bank of Hima Kohli judges had Subramonium Prasad point out that the RAT numbers present per day were “abysmal” as they did not even reach 50 percent of the target of 22,000 tests per day set by the Delhi government.

“See if you can expand the numbers on the rapid antigen tests. Looking at the rate, the numbers (COVID-19) are going up, the sooner it does, the better, “the bank said.

The Delhi government’s additional permanent adviser, Satyakam, who appeared for the health department, said the RAT methodology started on June 18 and was in its testing phase.

He said the testing methodology is currently limited to hot spots and containment zones and asked the court to wait a week after which RAT numbers would increase.

During the video conference hearing, the higher court also suggested that the RAT methodology be allowed in designated COVID-19 hospitals so that test numbers can be increased.

The bank heard a request from defender Sanjeev Sharma, who argued that there have been several cases where non-COVID patients who need surgery or emergency procedures should undergo testing before that, but the hospital in question cannot perform the test as they are not allowed to do it by the Delhi government.

In the same matter, the higher court had previously asked private laboratories to report on the difficulties they face in carrying out the COVID tests.

On June 18, the laboratories presented the various difficulties they faced to the High Court and requested an expert committee, created by the Lieutenant Governor, to advise the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, to examine the issues raised and resolve them.

On Monday, the bank ordered the chief secretary of the Delhi government to convene a committee meeting to discuss the issues raised by the labs and ordered that the panel’s recommendations be passed on to the higher court before the next hearing date on June 26.

Of the several difficulties highlighted by the laboratories, one was that the process of loading patient registration data was cumbersome and time-consuming and labor-intensive since it must be loaded into the RT-PCR application, the COVID application, the portal ICMR and Integrated Portal Disease Surveillance linked to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The labs said all of this required engaging multiple data entry operators so that information can be provided to multiple government agencies on a daily basis, thereby wasting valuable time and diverting their energies from the testing process.

They suggested that the process be streamlined and a single-point agency designated for all private laboratories to provide the necessary information to share with all other government agencies.

Other difficulties included duplication in the phlebotomist registration process (collecting samples), NABL’s insistence on re-accreditation by accredited laboratories for the COVID test, and that some of the coronavirus symptoms such as loss of smell and taste are not mentioned in the test notice or on the forms to be completed.

Sharma’s request was presented in the main petition of lawyer Rakesh Malhotra, who had requested rapid proof of the COVID-19 cases and the declaration of results within 48 hours.

On May 4, the high court struck down the request with an order to the Delhi government to publish on their websites the correct data of the tests carried out, the number of positive results, and the pending results.

The request also alleges that the Delhi government failed to adequately comply with the superior court’s May 4 address.