In a first, private lab collects sample: No point being scared

Around 22 private laboratories, including Dr Lal PathLabs, Dr Dangs Lab and Indraprastha Apollo have been approved to help government test patients for the virus.




Around 10 am, Dr Lal PathLabs senior phlebotomist Kamlesh Thakur received a call from his team to perform the first-ever sample collection for coronavirus test for private laboratories. By 11 am, he was standing outside a “small nursing home” in central Delhi.

Sanitising himself, the 30-year-old arrived at an area designated for him to wear his protective gear. First the shoe covers with his trousers tucked in, then a hazmat suit, followed by a head cover, face mask, goggles and, finally, the gloves.

After asking a few questions to verify the identity of the patient, he performed a nasal and throat swab, putting it in a viral transport medium, stored in a box. He exited the area, took his protective gear off and sealed it in another kit to be destroyed, sanitised himself once more and took off for a transit point, from where the sample would be taken to the company’s lab in Rohini for testing.

“Before entering the patient’s room, we have to ensure that not a single part of our body is exposed,” says Thakur, who learnt of the many risks associated with sample collection during some of India’s swine flu outbreaks.

Thakur, who has a three-year-old son, volunteered for the job. “This is about protecting the country. I work in the healthcare sector, so there is no point getting scared (in situations like these),” he says, adding, “But just to make sure, I sanitise myself and remove my clothes before entering my house.”

As many as 300 others like him, working in diagnostic chains across the country, have been trained for such situations and are gearing up to take on the task of collecting samples either from homes or hospitals.

Around 22 private laboratories, including Dr Lal PathLabs, Dr Dangs Lab and Indraprastha Apollo have been approved to help government test patients for the virus. Of these, Dr Lal PathLabs has offered two of its laboratories that fit the government’s criteria — the one in Rohini, which was approved on Monday (March 23), and another in Kolkata, which is still awaiting approval. Each of these labs can perform around 1,500 tests.

“We have started our operations today…We have informed our call centre…and our sales teams have informed doctors that we are now conducting (COVID-19) tests,” Dr Lal PathLabs managing director Dr Arvind Lal said.

The firm has been receiving queries by email, phone calls and their website. “Hospitals also contact us. Even today, a couple of hospitals called us up,” he says.

The company has qualified personnel ready to be deployed for sample collection across the country. It has set the turnaround time for the final reports at up to 48 hours, given the difficulties in collecting and transporting samples in some states. “This (sample collection) is predominantly in Delhi at this stage. In other cities, we have not been able to pick up (samples) because of air freight movement restrictions. Ground transportation has also come to a complete halt,” says Dr Lal.

The company has decided to perform the two tests at once — both initial and confirmatory tests in one go — at the cost of Rs 4,500.

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