Without testing labs to identify infected, 11 rural districts see Covid surge

Four months after the first coronavirus case was reported in Gujarat, the Covid-19 pandemic — which has affected more than 61,000 people — is surging beyond cities. Almost 50 per cent of cases are now being reported from rural districts. And, the lack of medical infrastructure in these areas means the State government cannot carry out tests in time to identify those infected, and control the spread of the disease.

Gujarat government had started preparing for the Covid-19 battle in the beginning of February when the State did not have even one positive case of coronavirus infection. And yet, since then, the government does not seem to have found the time or the inclination to set up testing centres in 11districts: Bharuch, Surendranagar, Dahod, Panchmahals, Mahisagar, Botad, Kheda, Morbi, Chhotaudepur, Anand, and Aravalli. These districts neither have RT-PCR nor TrueNAT testing available.

Effect of lack of testing labs reflect in the figures. Nine of these 11districts have shown a rise in cases over the past week. Bharuch, which saw a low of 19 cases during this period, registered 35 cases on July 30. Surendranagar, which reported a low of 24 cases, saw 34 cases on July 30. Dahod went from 18 cases on July 24 to 38 cases on July 28. The Panchmahals saw a rise from 8 cases on July 24 to 23 cases on July 30.

Mahisagar too has shown consistent rise in cases, going from 2 on July 24 to a high of 20 on July 28. This dropped to 16 on July 30. Botad, which reported a low of 3 cases earlier this week, showed 13 cases on July 30. Kheda saw rise from 8 cases on July 24 to touch 16 cases on July 28 and drop to 15 cases on July 30. Morbi district saw cases going from just 6 on July 24 to a high of 28 on July 29. In Chhotaudepur, cases went from 2 on July 24 to a high of 22 cases on July 26. On July 30, the tribal district reported 13 cases.

Anand and Aravalli fared better as the former registered 10 to 12 cases daily throughout the week, while the latter actually saw fall in Covid-19 cases. The district registered 7cases on July 24 which dropped to 1 on July 29 but then rose to 3 the next day. Of 33 districts, there is RT-PCR testing facility at 13 with major hospitals.

Nine districts test through TrueNAT, while these 11 remain dependent on major labs in other districts. Of these districts, mostly in central and south belt of the State, only two actually have the wherewithal to set up BSL2+ laboratories in the near future. One is at Karamsad Hospital in Anand, said Collector RG Gohil. The other is at CU Shah Medical College in Surendranagar, said Collector K Rajesh.

While Kheda Collector I K Gupta has asked ND Desai Medical College, an SFI, if it can upgrade its lab to BSL2+ standards, Dahod Collector Vijay Kharadi said he is in talks with private Zydus Medical College to see if they can set up a lab soon. However, none of the other districts hope of setting up aCovid-19 testing lab anytime soon.

Aravalli may have to depend on two trust-run hospitals in Vatrak and Modasa to set up labs if cases rise exponentially and Mahisagar district hospital is still being built. Officials at Botad and Morbi conceded there is no chance to set up a lab anytime soon, while Chhotaudepur Collector Sujal Mayatra is in talks with private labs.

Of 11districts without any kind of Covid-19 testing facilities, three each send their samples to Ahmedabad and Vadodara. GMERS Sola in Ahmedabad caters to samples from Anand, Surendranagar, and the Panchmahals.

SSG Civil Hospital in Vadodara caters to testing for Mahisagar, Dahod and Chhotaudepur. Aravalli sends its samples to GMERS Himmatnagar, Botad sends them to Sir T Civil Hospital in Bhavnagar, Kheda sends samples to GMERS Gandhinagar, Morbi sends them to GG Civil Hospital in Jamnagar.

Covid suspects in Aravalli, Anand, Surendranagar, Botad, Kheda and Chhotaudepur have to wait for at least 24 hours for results of RT-PCR tests. The least time for testing (about 14-16 hours) takes place in the Panchmahals, said Collector Amit Arora. It can take up to 36 hours to get RT-PCR results in Mahisagar, said Collector R D Barad. Morbi CDHO and Dahod Collector admitted results can sometimes take up to 48 hours to get to them.

Bharuch refuses to share data
Bharuch district officials refused to comment on Covid-19 situation in the district. Collector M D Modia first refused to speak on the grounds that he had a meeting to attend then did not respond to subsequent calls and messages. CDH) Dr VS Tripathi reacted in the same manner.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Patel, former LS MP for Bharuch and current RS MP from Gujarat, had written a letter to PM Narendra Modi on July 29 regarding the ‘worrisome Coronavirus situation’ in Gujarat. It stated, “Gujarat has to conduct far more tests, establish testing centres across all district headquarters and towns. As the infection spreads to rural areas, it is essential that people do not have to travel long distances to get tested else there is a high risk that Covid patients will go undetected.”

About Bharuch, he wrote: “People are still finding it tough to undertake a test near their residence, as a result less than 9,000 tests have been conducted.”

— BRENDAN DABHI, NISCHAL SANGHAVI, LAKSHMI PATEL