Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The officials of Health Department in Jabalpur have hit on 62 laboratories and sample collection centres which were issuing negative RT-PCR reports related to COVID-19 cases within one or two hours of taking samples, a health official said on Saturday.
The Specimen Referral Form (SRF) ID of those centres has been blocked with immediate effect, the official added.
According to reports, most of these laboratories and collection centres were being run without obtaining permission from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
Regional director of Health Department, Dr Sanjay Mishra, said that most collection centres were fraudulently using the names of renowned laboratories.
“According to norms, only notified laboratories are permitted to collect samples in their labs and issue RT-PCR reports. Collection centres of any laboratories are not permitted to even collect the samples for COVID-19 test,” Mishra said.
Replying to a query as to how these collection centres got SRF ID, Mishra said that a probe into the case had been ordered and an action would be taken on the grounds probe report.
“It is a matter of investigation as to how these collection centres got SRF IDs; whereas only recognised laboratories which have NABL certification can be given SRF access,” Mishra said.
On getting complaints that fake RT-PCR reports are being prepared at certain laboratories, the health department set up a team to inquire into the matter.
The officials, then, went to the laboratories as clients and got themselves tested for COVID-19.
No sooner had it been confirmed that those laboratories issued fake reports than the officials braced for action against the guilty.
Money taken for preparing negative reports
As the COVID-19 reports are required for travel and for other purposes, these collection centres and laboratories issued the report in one or two hours. “If you urgently want your RT-PCR reports, they (collection and laboratories owners) will charge you even more than Rs 2,000 to make a negative report. And, if you have two or three hours’ time, they will charge between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 from you,” a health official said.
Dr Mishra said that the health department had found that a class-12-pass person was running such a collector centre.
“We are yet to ascertain the number of reports these laboratories have so far prepared,” Mishra said.
(With input from Shiv Choubey, Jabalpur)
