Covid-19 sample collection booths set up by different organizations partnering with the government are facing difficulties as the sample testing labs are failing to provide results in time.
The authorities of these sample collection booths said this delay would lead to a decrease in the number of further collection of samples as they were being forced to slow down the process.
Afsar Hossain Habib of JKG Healthcare said since April 8 the organisation had been collecting samples. Currently they are collecting samples at some 45 booths in Dhaka and Narayanganj.
In every booth, some 35 to 80 samples are collected in a day, he said, adding that they are seeing a huge response from people who wish to get tested at the booths as the booths are easily accessible.
“The authorities were supposed to inform people whether or not the results were positive. But as they fail to do it in time, we have to face these people,” he said.
According to officials, some four labs are taking samples from JKG in Dhaka while the samples in Narayanganj will go to US-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
Morsheda Chowdhury, associate director of the Health, Nutrition and Population Programme (HNPP) at Brac, said although the HNPP had just initiated sample collection facilities in the city on May 11, it has had a huge response already.
“We are considering whether we can increase the number of booths in the city. But insufficient testing facilities are putting us in a difficult situation and if it is not resolved in time we will have to slow down the process,” she added.
Brac had earlier said it would set up some 44 kiosks in the city. Seeing the demand, the number might be increased to around 50.
Brac officials had earlier said each of the kiosks could collect 30 to 40 samples per hour.
However, Dr Morsheda stated that the HNPP was looking to collect at least 30 samples a day since the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) was making 30 testing kits available for each kiosk.
Although JKG could not confirm its total tally of samples collected in a day, Brac said it had collected some 767 samples from 25 booths on Thursday. The sample collection booths remained closed on Friday.
Contacted by Dhaka Tribune, Mahbuba Jamil, Virologist at the Institute of Public Health (IPH), said the IPH would not be able to receive more than 50 samples from the Brac kiosks as it had to test the samples collected from five districts too.
IPH sources said they now had 3 testing machines in the lab and were running it round the clock to meet demand.
Meanwhile, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Principal Scientific Officer Dr ASM Alamgir said as the IEDCR was tasked with quality control of the other labs, it would be difficult for the organisation to test additional samples.
He, however, said it could test 250 to 500 samples a day from the kiosks, depending on the number of samples sent to them for quality check-up.
But it would not be possible to test 1,000 samples a day, he added.
The Additional Director General (Administration) of DGHS, Prof Nasima Sultana, said the directorate general was aware of the issue and would sit with the organizations to resolve it soon.