A number of COVID-19 test labs have gone out of order, hampering the testing of samples and causing sufferings to test seekers.
The RT-PCR labs in the capital’s Mugda Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, National Institute of Biotechnology have remained out of order for a few days.
The labs in other parts of the country, including at Sheikh Hasina Medical College Hospital in Jamalpur, Bhola 250-Bed General Hospital in Bhola and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura, have also been out of order, according to DGHS officials.
‘The testing operation at some labs has been stopped as the labs have gone out of order,’ said DGHS spokesperson Habibur Rahman.
‘We are working to fix the labs,’ he said, adding, ‘It’s not abnormal for labs to go out of order.’
Habibur said that alternative measures were taken to collect samples and test them at nearby labs.
Bangladesh is in a lower position on the list of countries in terms of conducting COVID-19 tests.
The country has now 140 labs but the number of daily tests now ranges between 13,000 and 15,000, occasionally going above 16,000.
