Saturation for daily RT-PCR tests reached, labs unable to deliver same-day results: Jain
New Delhi: Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the Capital had reached its COVID-19 testing capacity and that the saturation level had arrived, as a result of which the test results are not available the same day.
Calling it a "new problem that has emerged", Jain said that while officials had been directed to conduct 35,000 RT-PCR tests daily, the laboratories are unable to churn-out all the results the same day.
He highlighted that Delhi had conducted its highest number of daily RT-PCR tests at over 26,000 on Tuesday. However, Thursday night's health bulletin showed that the record was further broken on Wednesday when the city conducted nearly 29,000 RT-PCR tests.
"The testing has reached the saturation level… Many people now say they were tested just two to three days ago," Jain said while speaking to the media adding that the state government had directed official to increase the RT-PCR capacity to 35,000 but the laboratories are unable to give out results within a day as he called this a new challenge the government is facing.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Corona app showed that around 2,080 hospital beds were added in the city in the last 15 days which includes 1,359 ICU beds. Quoting the app's data, Jain took to Twitter to share the news.
He also said that more than 50 percent of the beds which have been reserved for coronavirus patients are vacant.
Showing the Delhi Government's dedication to ramp up healthcare infrastructure, Jain said that even vacant beds had increased manifold. In a tweet, he said, "Bed vacancy for covid patients in Delhi hospitals increased to 9,138 from 7,844 in the last 4 days. During the same period ICU bed vacancy increased to 1057 from 515."
The Delhi government was allowed to temporarily reserve ICU beds in private hospitals here after a weeks-long battle in court. The Delhi High Court had allowed it after noting that the third wave was getting dangerous and with the assurance that the Delhi government would ensure no patient is denied care.
