The fate of unauthorized Covid-19 testing kits imported by some public representatives remains in the dark as the government is yet to decide what to do with them.
Some public representatives, reportedly from the ruling party, brought these test kits for detecting Covid-19 patients in their localities.
As of Thursday, Bangladesh confirmed 4,186 coronavirus cases with the death toll rising to 127 after seven new fatalities were reported.
The controversy over the unauthorized coronavirus testing kits began after some public representatives, without any approval from the country’s health authority, imported thousands of rapid Covid-19 test kits from China, citing those to be used as “humanitarian cause,” and distributed those in their respective areas.
Gazipur City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Jahangir Alam is among the importers who brought these unauthorized testing kits in large numbers.
The GCC mayor collected and bought around 100,000 testing kits from China and carried them into Bangladesh himself in two “special flights.”
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday, the GCC mayor said that a total of 20,000 of his testing kits have already been distributed to different hospitals in Gazipur, Dhaka, and few other districts and municipalities.
The rest of the kits he said are currently kept as stock for future distribution.
When asked about the efficiency of the kits that he imported, Jahangir said he is unaware of the results, adding, “I do not know whether my kits are working or not. The doctors who are using them know better.
“As a public representative, I brought the kits for people under my city corporation.”
The mayor also said that he is not forcing anyone to use the kits provided by him.
“If anyone wants to use them, they can,” he added.
Responding to a question on whether the kits received any government approval, Jahangir said he had sent some samples to the Health Ministry for this purpose.
However, he claimed that he is yet to hear anything from the government.
A Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction tests, currently being used globally, can detect Covid-19 with an accuracy of 95 to 97%.
Whereas, the unapproved rapid testing kits from China, the ones imported by the Gazipur mayor and others, have an accuracy rate of 85% to 95%.
Contacted, Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Thursday told Dhaka Tribune that they are yet to take any decision regarding these unauthorized coronavirus testing kits.
“None of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries including Bangladesh are using such kits to detect coronavirus patients. In addition, these testing kits don’t even have the necessary approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for public use,” said Dr Nasima.
The fast-spreading Covid-19 has so far killed 185,000 people in more than 200 countries and territories.
