PUNE Bharti Sahastrabuddhe (56) had to wait for almost a week to get her RT-PCR report, unaware of whether she has tested positive or negative for Covid, she had to live in uncertainty and fear of infecting her family members.

Mr and Mrs Sahastrabuddhe who live near Sinhagad road in the city had their samples collected through a reputed laboratory on April 7, however, Mr Sahastrabuddhe (63), got his report on April 13 and his wife got it on April 15.

Many people in Pune have been complaining about a delay in RT-PCR reports, especially since Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) brought in orders to get RT-PCR tests done for work and travel purposes. The district administration has been writing to the state government to increase testing capacity in the city which has been reporting the highest number of new Covid cases in the country.

While most commercial laboratories have ensured that the reports are made available to the people within 24 to 36 hours, most hospitals have either stopped or prioritized sample collection.

Dr. HK Sake, executive director at Noble Hospital, said, “We have stopped collecting samples for now because we have an overload of work. Our staff is exhausted with treating patients at the OPD and those admitted. We have samples lined up on our corridors and so we have stopped collection as of now.”

Pallavi Jain, managing director at Krsnaa, said, “We ensure that all our reports are presented within 36 hours and the delay is because of the staff shortage as most of them have been infected.”

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