Why the number of Covid testings done in Telangana State are less in number when compared to that of other states? The reasons are not revealed from quite long time and there is even no official statements from the government officials regarding this.
But now the secret is revealed partly. The tests are being done only for the people those have travel history and primary contacts. You may wonder how there will be travel history when the total country is in lockdown from March 22nd. But that is what the officials at King Koti Hospital and Gandhi Hospital are saying.
As per twitter posts, some people are coming with symptoms to get tested for Covid to King Koti Hospital but they are denying the tests based on the patient's age and questions regarding travel history and primary contact with those who travelled earlier.
As per ICMR (Indian Council For Medical Research) guidelines, people living in hotspots and who show the symptoms of influenza like illness (ILI) must be tested for Coronavirus. But the protocol is not being followed as per the reports.
As per News18 report, Priya, a senior journalist and mother of a four year old was not tested even though she asked for. It seems the authorities have told that she need not be tested as she is 33 and her body can fight it out.
She posted on twitter with her handle @priyakamal: "5 days ago I developed fever. It was low at first. 99 degrees. I had a bad headache that day. I popped a Dolo and kept working".
As she was denied the tests, she continued to tweet, "I self isolated myself from Day 2 onwards. My husband is supporting and helping manage things. But it has been really stressful for us because what if I have it? My daughter is upset, she cannot come close to me", she tweeted.
As a response to this, there are some tweets seconding this experience.
Lack of transparency from the government on testing patterns has only worsened the situation. Health experts are pointing out that the state is lagging behind in testing.
State government data says it has conducted 375 tests per million people compared to the national average of 620, as of April 27.
The immediate neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh is conducting 1100 tests per million people, as of April 27, according to the state government.
So, we need to wait and see what the government will say about this. This is high time because, the testing pattern is necessary to be known before the lock down is going to be lifted as controlling the pandemic is more difficult post lockdown than during lockdown.