It’s now almost accepted as a truism in the Covid-19 battle context that it’s still a long way to go for the much-sought after vaccine to arrive. But, that what is of utmost necessity is of the test kits and all the necessary paraphernalia such as masks, sanitizers & PPE or the life-saving ventilators and there is shortage everywhere in world. For India, it’s  severe and reading the trend of corona counts as on Friday evening, there is a clear indication that if this shortage in not countered on a war footing, one of the fundamental goal of the current lockdown which is to snap the virus’s mass penetration might remain unattained.

It must be remembered that a week earlier,WHO has given a clear message to all affected countries, now a distressed family of 200+, that testing is the first action to be taken in the line of coronavirus defence. And the crux of the global observation regarding the national scenario is that- cases continue to remain far less in India compared to global developments only due to the fact that there aren’t enough tests here. This ‘allegation’ cannot be discounted since various reports have suggested that there really exist an acute crunch of testing kits and nearly 200 labs now authorized to cater to the much-needed testings are being compelled to function much below their capacities due to this factor alone. Going by the ICMR estimates, 123 state-run labs are operating only at around 36% of their capacities and the remaining accredited private labs are also facing same woes. A small figure will help understand how India has failed on this vital count- all exposing the huge gap between the desired and actual. The number of tests in India stood at nearly 43,000 on March 31 which is one-thirtieth the pace of the U.S and even further behind the top testing countries like South Korea. The reasons can be attributed to India’s late response, under-preparation and a sort of under-estimation of the approaching wave of the pandemic. A far-sighted approach would have led to the avoidance of the current test kit crisis the country is facing and procuring from outside is really difficult now as international suppliers are prioritising consignments for more severely affected countries.

It isn’t sure how the coming weeks will turn out to be. Besides the huge demand-supply gap of test kits, shortage of PPE and their reported sub-standard qualities is also acting as a moral dampener for the frontline fighters of the pandemic.

It will be a lost battle, if these shortages are not met within a week. The frightened nation which is obeying the lockdown despite pains, expects its government to act fast. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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