Home truth: Getting tested a huge challenge i

New Delhi: Worried by the fever Himanshi and her husband have had for some days, they called several pathology laboratories for a Covid test, only to be told they couldn’t come home to collect the sample.

- Shardha Chettri

She and her husband cannot go out to have the test done because they have no one to look after their 15-month-old infant. Hundreds like the couple are caught in this desperate situation in Delhi, with no help forthcoming from any quarter.

With home collection of samples for Covid tests declining rapidly, apparently due to the load created by the huge surge in cases, families with elderly people and children are struggling the most. Kalkaji resident Himanshi told TOI, “While, my 15-yearold son seems fine now after having fever for two days, my husband and I are still unwell. But not one of the labs nearby that I called has come, only told us we will have to wait at least three days.”