HEALTH COVID 2.0

Much like in the rest of India, hospitals in Kashmir are ill-prepared to deal with virulent second wave, the government’s protestations notwithstanding, reports Yawar Hussain

- Yawar Hussain

On April 25, Saifullah Bashir was taken aback when he got a call from a health department official declaring him Covid-19 positive after a wait of eight days. During this period he had mingled with his family as he was asymptomatic.

Bashir, a student had gone for RTPCR testing at the Primary Health Centre in Batamaloo (Srinagar) on April 17 following contact with a Covid-19 patient.

The slow pace is the result of the growing number of people going for testing each day while the testing capacity in Kashmir is dismal.

As Kashmir battles the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the official data reveals that 20000 people come for testing on a daily basis while the capacity is just 8000.

The backlog of nearly 12000 tests each day is the reason for delayed results which makes people especially asymptomatic patients complacent in following appropriate Covid-19 behaviour.

“My mother and younger brother, who I had sent to my maternal uncle’s home for five days returned on April 23. They both have now tested positive as well because I thought I was negative,” Bashir said ruing the slow pace of testing.

TESTING CAPACITY

Official data reveals, of the cumulative 8000 testing capacity, the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, Kashmir’s main health facility has a capacity to conduct just 2000 Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR tests. The minimal capacity is in stark contrast to the swab collection centres associated with the hospital.

As per official records, all the Primary and Community Health Centres of Kashmir along with special facilities set-up in all 10 districts for test collection send their test swabs to the Chest Disease Hospital Srinagar, an associated hospital of SMHS.