Dr Swasticharan also noted that even if self-testing for COVID-19 has to be done, it should be conducted after the concerned authorities issue proper guidelines.
TFM Report
Additional DDG and EMR director Dr L Swasticharan, who led the central team visited Manipur to assess the COVID situation, has maintained that the state government should take action against any illegal sale of unapproved Covid-19 self-testing kits in the state.
Dr Swasticharan was responding to a query raised by TFM at a press conference held at the Directorate of Health Services, Lamphelpat, Imphal on Monday.
In a recent TFM Investigative expose, it was reported a self-testing kit — STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test kit, which is strictly for medical professional use, is being sold as COVID-19 home test kit in Manipur. It was also revealed that the product is not among the list of COVID-19 home test kits approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
As the kit does not have an inbuilt system of data capture mechanism, one of the key specific prerequisites set by ICMR to validate it as a self-test kit, concerns were raised about possible misuse of the test kit and risk of improper disposal of biohazard wastes, amongst others.
Dr Swasticharan also noted that even if self-testing for COVID-19 has to be done, it should be conducted after the concerned authorities issue proper guidelines.
He also maintained that it might create unnecessary panic amongst the public as when someone who used the kit turned out to be positive then he or she might suspect that there must be something wrong with the kit. And if it turns out to be false negative then it may give a false security to the individual and might continue with daily life without any precautions, thereby endangering others in the process, he added.
As noted by experts and Dr Swasticharan, who himself is a public health expert, scientific analysis of authentic data is crucial in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As more dangerous variants are being reported all around the world, real-time tracking of the infection is a crucial weapon for policy makers to contain the virus.
Another aspect of selling illegal self-testing kits at an inflated price is the question of profiteering during a humanitarian crisis. Families are being devastated both emotionally and economically, while some are conducting such business amidst the public health crisis.
For Manipur, the situation remains grim even after more than two months of restrictions imposed by the state government. On Tuesday, the state reported 863 new cases out of 5,069 tests with a positivity rate of 17.03 per cent.
According to the health department, between January 1, 2021 and July 4, 2021, Manipur reported 44,098 cases with a positivity rate of 9.9 per cent. 841 individuals have lost their lives during the period.
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