ADILABAD: Many people are hesitant to come to the PHCs for Covid tests in view of the soaring temperatures. Even for those who come in, their patience is being tested with the delay in the tests. Also, a shortage of rapid test kits is felt at various places.
These are leading to an increase in the number of Covid positive cases and faster spread of the virus in the old Adilabad district. Several people with symptoms complained about the huge delay in tests at PHCs and in giving the results.
The medical staff is spending considerable time collecting names from the people who visit the test centres and this also delays the process. Many elderly persons are going back home without getting tested, unable to bear with the strain and weather conditions for long. There are snags in conducting the RTPCR tests at RIMS, Adilabad.
In some places, the medical staff is asking the people to wait till as many as 50 people gather, and then would collect samples. There are also allegations that some medical staff are asking for bribe to give the test result immediately, at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences(RIMS).
Many asymptomatic people are unknowingly transmitting the Covid virus to others. People are freely moving and mingling without taking Covid precautions on assumption they were not affected by the pandemic. Many who are already affected by the virus but did not get test results yet as positive are carelessly moving around among the public. Some political leaders have criticised alleged negligence on part of the medical staff in conducting the tests and the delay in giving the results.
It is also noted that there is no proper supervision of the medical staff involved in the medical tests at PHCs and urban health centers. Meanwhile, adding to the overall confusion, the health department has stopped issuing the daily bulletin on the number of positive cases and deaths.
