Testing time for pathlabs as Covid cases soar April 18, 2021 Labs moving to add manpower, augment infrastructure as demand for test surges As the daily Covid-19 case load hit new highs, pathology laboratories are facing their toughest challenge to meet the soaring demand for the RT-PCR test to check for the infection. Cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi are facing waiting periods of two-three days for sample collection and about four days for the report. And this is due to a shortage of manpower at labs, limited lab networks and rush of people to get tested, say pathlabs. Pathology laboratory chain SRL Diagnostics is seeing a dramatic surge in demand for tests over the past few weeks across the country. “As compared to February, the testing has almost tripled today which is largely owing to the spurt in new cases as well as travel-related requirements,” said Anand K, CEO, SRL Diagnostics. Many States have made a negative RT-PCR test mandatory to enter their borders. Also, the surge in daily new cases across major States, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, has prompted more people to get tested.