At ten past 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Chintal resident Venkatesh reached State-run Nature Cure Hospital in Begumpet to get a COVID test done. He had to wait behind more than 100 people, only to get turned away at 8 a.m. This was the second time Mr. Venkatesh was turned away, as people made a queue before 4 a.m. to get the tokens, which start at 7.30 a.m.
The COVID-19 tests start at 9 a.m. at two designated counters on the open grounds of Nature Cure Hospital, and since testing capacity is limited, many have to wait till afternoon to get their turn.
“Unaware of the queue system, I reached the hospital at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and after learning about it, today I came at 5.10 a.m., but in vain. A friend of mine tested positive for the virus last week, and I wanted to get myself diagnosed for the safety of others and mine as well,” Mr. Venkatesh said.
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Like Venkatesh, hundreds of people are waiting in queues for up to 10 hours, as crowds increase and testing capacity remains the same.
“We are entitled to collect the samples of only 100 people on a first-come-first-serve basis. Everyday hundreds of people form the line before 4 a.m. and most of them are turned away. We are helpless,” a staff at the testing centre told The Hindu .
However, on Wednesday, the hospital staff issued 120 tokens, she said.
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Similar is the situation at the Government Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre, Erragadda, where the testing capacity is 300, but almost 100 to 150 people are turned away everyday. The staff there maintain that by 7.30 a.m., they open the main gate and the security count and allow only 300 people inside, while the rest standing in the queue since dawn are turned away.
By 8.20 a.m., the situation became tense as people began arguing with the security guard for not allowing them. “This has become a normal thing for me now. People who are not in the first 300, pick-up arguments as they stand in line for more than two or three hours. I have clear instructions to allow only a particular number,” a security guard said.
“There were some 10 people before me, who came at 5.30 a.m. and got a chance. I was not allowed inside. Now, I cannot go to another centre as the situation is similar there and cannot afford private labs,” said Shekar, a daily wager from Borabanda.
Outside the Urban Primary Health Centre on Road No. 7 of Banjara Hills, dozens of people formed a queue for their turn to get tested with a police constable monitoring the ‘lane discipline’.
This is the scene at every government-run testing centre in the State capital. Private labs, on the other hand, are making people wait for two or three days since registration or stand in queues for hours.