India has ramped up its measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak by continuously expanding the network of testing facilities across the country. Here are the COVID-19 testing labs in India, put on the map.
By Tariq Hashmat
Globally, there’s a sudden surge in number of COVID-19 infections and deaths as many countries grapple to control the coronavirus outbreak. While the virus took 67 days to infect its first 1,00,000 people, second 1,00,000 got infected in span of 11 days and the next 1,00,000 in just 4 days. Though China’s first COVID-19 case originated on 17 November 2019, India reported its first confirmed COVID-19 patient on 30 January 2020.
By the evening of 24 March 2020, the number of cases in India crossed 500, with the Indian Council of Medical Research and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also confirming 40 recoveries and 10 deaths in the country. At present, the infection rate in India is reported to be 1.7 percent, which is lower than other affected countries worldwide.
To contain the spread of the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has outlined recommendations on laboratory testing strategy for each country based on the stage of the disease transmission. Each day, as the number of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients spike, Indian authorities intensify efforts to contain the outbreak.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), designated as WHO’s reference lab for COVID-19 testing, is supervising the strategy in India. The testing strategy is reviewed by the National Task Force which constitutes the Secretary of Department of Health Research (DHR) & Director General, ICMR and is chaired by Prof. V. K. Paul of the NITI Aayog.
Initially, the ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune was the only lab conducting COVID-19 tests in India. However, in the wake of rising confirmed cases in India, the Union Health Ministry has made over 100 labs functional for testing across the country. To ensure smooth operations for coronavirus testing, ICMR has also roped in high-quality private laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
On March 21, strict guidelines were issued for private laboratory setups to conduct COVID-19 tests. These included: protocols on whom to test, sample collection, testing, reporting and sample storage, etc.
Additionally, the National Task Force strongly recommended a maximum price cap of ₹4,500/-, while still encouraging subsidised or free tests that includes nose and throat swabs to detect the coronavirus. The current rate of testing on real-time PCR machines in India takes anywhere between 10 and 24 hours for the confirmation.
Apart from government hospitals and medical colleges, army hospitals and command centers too have joined the fight to contain the pandemic. Here is the list of ICMR designated laboratories that include authorised private and corporate laboratories too.
The team at Health Analytics Asia has mapped out these facilities.
The map is updated as and when ICMR approves more labs and centres.
Amidst a growing concern to upscale and accelerate testing, there have been instances, like at the Darbhanga Medical College in Bihar, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhuvaneshwar, where the facility received the machine and reagents, but did not start testing for another 2 or 3 days. The ₹4,500/- price cap for private and corporate setups has also become a topic of debate, as the country’s already inadequate public healthcare infrastructure is put through rigorous times.
The Government of India guidelines do not require you to get tested if you do not show COVID-19 symptoms.
However, if you do, you are required to contact the helpline service immediately. They will advise you on the testing protocols of COVID-19.
In India, 24×7 COVID-19 helpline number is: +91 11 2397 8046.
Please note that private setups are not allowed to conduct COVID-19 tests without a prescription from a qualified physician, following ICMR testing guidelines.
This work by Health Analytics Asia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
