Govt targets 5,000 tests a day from May

Directorate General of Health Services has started working to scale up its coronavirus testing capacity with a target of testing over 5,000 people daily by the first week of next month.

Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), yesterday told The Daily Star that they had a plan to conduct 10,000 tests daily but they were initially eyeing for 5,000.

Currently, the country has a capacity of testing around 3,500 samples a day with the help of 30 PCR machines in 20 labs.

"We are preparing eight more labs for coronavirus tests and the number of tests will increase once it is done," Azad said, adding, "We are now thinking of scaling up the testing facilities at upazila-level."

He also said they were listing labs of different ministries that could be used for coronavirus tests.

As per insiders, if the existing PCR machines operate in two shifts then around 5,500 tests can be performed a day.

Besides, although the number of testing labs increased, but the lack of planning and manpower still remains, experts said.

People who collect samples on the ground are not well trained. Thus, many of the samples are not being collected properly, they added.

Asked, Prof Azad of DGHS also admitted that there was a lack of expertise among those who collect samples on the field.

Asked about the testing kits, Nasima Sultana, additional director general at DGHS, said, "We have sufficient number of kits and more kits are coming. Kits will not be a problem."

She said more doctors, nurses and technologists would be recruited soon to solve the manpower crisis.

Contacted, Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (disease control) of DGHS, said the more tests we can perform the more accurate picture we would get. That would help us to take more accurate programmes to contain the virus spread.

Although officials did not disclose the number of kits they have, IEDCR sources said the institution has around 30,000 kits stored.

Coronavirus infections in Bangladesh crossed the 5,000 mark yesterday after five more deaths and 418 new cases. The country tested 3,473 samples in the last 24 hours.