jointsguru
COVID 19 is a pandemic now and the world is fighting against it. Till now there is no vaccine or effective cure is available. Initially, government-imposed lockdown but now after lockdown restrictions are relaxed, cases are increasing with an alarming rate. Good news is the recovery rate is also improved above 70 per cent.
COVID 19 has produced a unique challenge to health care providers and policy makers. More than 80 per cent patients of COVID 19 have no or minimal symptoms. In such scenario most important action we can take is to increase more and more testing. The only test which has given consistent good result is RT PCR test. Many states are doing rapid antigen test too. But in the present scenario, RT PCR is the gold standard.
RT PCR is done with the help of throat and nasal swab. It is done in government hospitals and private labs as well. Initially, its cost was around 4500 which later on reduced to 2200. Very few private labs are allowed to do this testing.
My suggestion is that every district of India should have at least two labs with RT PCR capacity. We can not put too much burden on government hospitals only. The Cost should also be further reduced to 500 rupees as 2200 Rs is still on the higher side if we consider Indian population in villages and small towns.
There is some incidence where labs have done irregularities and given a false report. There should be strict control over such activities. Some labs have complained that capping of price can decrease the quality of the testing. Their concern should be checked and a mutual agreement will be better for all the parties.
Corona is going to stay for months. Only safety measure is prevention through masks and sanitization. Easy availability of RT PCR test can help in this fight. Hope responsible authorities will take notice. When I was writing this article. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Maharastra government have already reduced the price of this test.
