Mumbai: Despite the BMC's directive to increase Covid testing for efficiently tackling the pandemic surge, the civic-run dispensaries and Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray (HBT) clinics are unable to follow the order as they don't have stock of testing kits. Pathology lab Krsnaa Diagnostics is responsible for supplying kits but has failed in its duty, so far.
The city has recorded nearly 1,800 cases in the last 10 days, with a positivity rate of 13.5%, which is a major health concern. To strategise against the pandemic, BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal directed all deans, ward officers to increase Covid testing.
False promises by HBT clinics
“We learnt that some of the dispensaries and HBT clinics are still not conducting Covid testing as per the BMC order due to the lack of testingkits. The new service provider has failed to deliver and its not understanding that focus is on testing (amid the surge). Moreover, it has been more than seven days since we asked them to provide testing kits and still we are getting false promises,” said an official.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said, “We took a meeting with service providers on Tuesday and strictly instructed them to make testing kits available at health centres and dispensaries which are running out of stock.”
City's Covid count
Cases in 24 hrs
242
Covid tally
11,59,225
Active cases
1,478
Patients hospitalised
110
