New Delhi: Of the 733 districts in India that have recorded COVID-19 cases, research by the Indian Council of Medical Research showed that only 114 of these districts have government testing facilities, prompting the nodal agency for India's response to the outbreak to suggest that testing across the country be decentralised so that a wider range of research facilities can be involved in the process of sample collection.
In a study conducted by top scientists of the ICMR to determine how to ramp up testing numbers, it has been revealed that decentralisation of testing labs would significantly broaden India's testing efforts to detect as many cases as possible.
However, this comes as the country itself seems to have missed several deadlines set by its own agencies to put in place interventions that could have crucially ramped up testing numbers.
In addition to the Antibody test kits from China being faulty, authorities here are already running out of equipment to conduct the required number of RT-PCR tests, with RNA Extraction Kits soon to run out.
It must be noted that of these 733 districts, 319 are green zone districts and 414 are red and orange zone districts.
According to the study, there are at least a dozen intervention methods that if adopted, as per the suggested timeline, could increase India's testing capacity to test more than 1 lakh samples in a day by the end of May or beginning of June. These of course, include the use of automated RNA Extraction machines, RT-PCR machines at multi-disciplinary laboratories, the use of large throughput testing machines that can test up to 1,400 samples in a batch and many others.
For instance, the use of additional automated RNA extraction machines across all testing labs was recommended from at least the first weeks of May but the 160 machines ordered by the ICMR are yet to arrive.
As reported earlier by Millennium Post, only 29 labs in the country use the method which could shave off up to two hours from testing times and contribute to an increase of up to 20,000 tests per day if used at all of the laboratories.
In addition, the government's order of 35 lakh manual RNA Extraction kits is still pending, with current stocks lasting only up to a week if these testing rates are maintained. Significantly, now more than ever, the test kits will be required as states such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal prepare to increase their testing numbers.