Delay in Throat Swab Test in COVID Hospital Failure of Government- J R Lobo
Mangaluru: “The government has taken the Coronavirus Pandemic very lightly. The delay in the testing for COVID-19 at the Wenlock COVID hospital is a major setback and the failure of the government in containing the disease”, said the former MLA J R Lobo in a press statement on May 5.
In his statement, Lobo has said, “The District Wenlock hospital is now a COVID hospital. The opening and the operation of the testing lab also delayed in this hospital. There are several tests carried out at this hospital, samples from Udupi and Uttara Kannada also sent here for testing. From the past two days, there has been a problem for carrying out accurate tests. After two cases were reported in Boloor, the family members of the COVID-19 positive patient were quarantined. When we inquired about the test results of the family members, they said that their test was not done.”
Lobo further said, “As soon as I came to know about it, I immediately informed Deputy Commissioner Sindhu Roopesh who said that all necessary measures were taken for conducting the tests and today one of the reports was found to be positive for COVID-19. I received information that from the past two days, the throat swab test was not carried out at the Wenlock COVID hospital. When asked the reason for the delay, the officials said that they had sent back the testing kits to Bengaluru as they were not functioning properly.”
Lobo also said, “In Dakshina Kannada, we have well-equipped hospitals and the government should have taken the initiative to start the testing labs much earlier. The district minister in-charge should concentrate more on Dakshina Kannada district. He should take responsibility and handle the situation effectively. The local MLA, along with his associates, had visited houses in the sealed down areas. According to the government guidelines, no one should enter the sealed down areas, but the MLA has violated the guidelines”.