COVID-19 | Plans afoot to involve private labs for testing, says ICMR

There is no immediate need for their involvement, says institute

Representational image.

With 125 positive COVID-19 cases in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said it has specific plans to involve private laboratories for COVID-19 testing but will do so only if the numbers rise.

It is, however, in talks with the private sector for bringing in rapid-testing kits that can cut the testing time. Raman R. Gangakhedkar, head of the epidemiology and communicable diseases-I (ECD-I), division, ICMR, said: “We have increased testing capacity from 51 to 65 not just for preliminary testing, but also for confirmatory testing. The improved strength will cut the lag time by 24-48 hours for test results. Now 63 labs [62 virus research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLS)] and one National Centre for Disease Control are testing for COVID-19. Nine other labs will also start functioning shortly.”

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Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, noted that even for the COVID-19 reconfirmation test, which was previously done only at National Institute of Virology, Pune, ICMR has expanded the facility to 31 laboratories.

“But reduction in testing time is what we are looking at currently. This would enhance our testing capability and cut through the time taken. We have to look at the standard of the tests and ensure that they are up to the best,” he said.

“Quality control and safety of personnel are issues we have to keep in mind when involving private labs for testing. We are open to it and will involve them when needed,” he added.

Dr. Bhargava added that India’s testing capacity of 100,000 samples could be increased further by adding ICMR’s network of 106 VRDLS within days.

Dr. Gangakhedkar has noted that India is currently showing no evidence of any community transmission and that enough tests were being done to pick up any early indication of third-stage transmission.

“We are testing enough and so far there is no evidence for the need to go in for mass testing. ICMR is doing random testing to understand and gain any indication of community transmission. We will be getting the results of our random sampling by Wednesday, which will give us an indication of where we are headed. As of now, the transmission is localised and our labs are underwhelmed by the number of samples that we are getting,” he added.