A deserted Bijon Setu on Saturday
KOLKATA: Several suspected or recovering Covid patients are scheduling their medical tests on lockdown days to avoid crowds at testing centres.
Most of these people are either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and either stay close to testing centres or have their own two-wheeler or four-wheelers.
Testing has emerged as the first stumbling block for those experiencing symptoms. There is a huge waiting list at labs that collect samples from home. The findings are available only after 36 to 48 hours and sometimes even beyond that. Other testing centres are overcrowded and people have to wait for over two hours for their turn to give the samples.
Hamza Patel, a resident of Princep Street, completed 21 days of home isolation on August 1 after testing positive for Covid-19 last month but he waited till August 5, a total lockdown day, for his second test. “In fact my doctor who is attached with a hospital on Diamond Harbour Road where I also got my first test done suggested that I should go on August 5 if possible because there will hardly be any people as it was a lockdown day,” said Patel.
During the full lockdown days only people with medical emergencies can step out. Amit Saraf, a resident of MG Road, chose to get tested on August 8, Saturday, because of safety concerns. “I reported mild symptoms to my doctor after which he advised me to get tested at a hospital on Bypass. I opted for Saturday as there would be less people there,” said the businessman.
At Medica Superspecialty Hospital, number of tests drops by more than 50% on lockdown days. “While we conduct 170-180 tests on a regular day, it drops to around 60-65 on lockdown days,” said chairperson Alok Roy.
