The figures for COVID-19 testing in the district have dipped over the past two days. While over 17,000 tests were done on Saturday, the figure dipped to 11,734 on Sunday, followed by a further fall to 10,099 samples on Monday.
On Friday, a total of 11,255 tests were done at private laboratories, while 5,651 were done on Sunday at private labs. The number of tests done at private labs was not yet available on Monday.
The number of RT-PCR tests in Ernakulam has stood at a figure well over 6,000 daily as per figures from April 22 onwards. It stood at over 8,500 on April 26. The number fell to 5,763 on April 30, 5,557 on May 1, 3,810 on May 2, and 4,239 on May 3.
While one private lab owner in Kochi said that testing could just be slow because of May Day and the weekend, another said that some private labs across the State had halted RT-PCR testing since the rate for such tests at private labs had been slashed from ₹1,700 to ₹500. The government order cutting the rate was released on April 30.
C. Balachandran, a private lab owner in the State, said that once the order was issued, a few labs had decided not to take any samples on Saturday since it was not viable.
“But since it is a pandemic situation, some labs resumed collecting samples on Monday at government fixed rates. We are unsure about how long we will be able to proceed at this rate, considering the staff and resources involved in the process,” he said. Total testing could have fallen since the contribution of private labs was substantial, he said.
District Medical Officer N. K. Kuttappan said that since the rate had fallen, tests in private labs had fallen as well. “But if they do have the approval to do RT-PCR tests, they must do it, and cannot refuse,” he said. “Why there has been a fall in testing will have to be examined. If labs authorised to do RT-PCR tests refuse to do them, action will have to be taken,” he said.
