Quality audit of Govt. and Private Laboratories to be conducted to ensure the ICMR protocols
Chandigarh, June 16: To define containment zones with large outbreaks of COVID-19 cases and activities to be done in containment zones, the District Technical Committees headed by Civil Surgeons have been constituted to demarcate the exact boundaries of specific area in all districts.
Giving details in a press communiqué, the Health Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu said that to contain the disease in the specific area, it has been observed to establish micro-containment zone where 5 or more cases of Corona virus are reported. The decision to demarcate containment and micro- containment areas to be taken by a committee comprising of the Civil Surgeon, District Epidemiologists, A Nodal Officer from Administration, A Nodal Officer from Department of PSM, Medical colleges.
The committee shall immediately communicate the decision regarding area to be contained/micro-contained to state committee comprising of Executive Director, SHSRC, Director Health Services and State Nodal Officer for COVID-19 adding that he apprised the district Technical Committee would also define spot mapping, exact boundaries along with the population in the containment zone including identification of vulnerable Population with co morbid conditions.
Besides this, dedicated committees would also make a plan for searching active cases along with the number of teams to be deployed in the area.
To ensure the close check of private hospitals, clinics & labs conducting COVID-19 tests in the State, the minister said that it has been made mandatory to provide details of samples collected by them to the civil Surgeon of the Districts with a copy to State IDSP. The private hospitals/clinics/Labs strictly instructed to collect and test the sample as per ICMR protocol.
Mr. Sidhu further said that it has also been decided to conduct regular quality audit of Govt. and Private labs under which 5 positive and 5 negative of stored samples from each of govt medical college lab and private medical college lab (CMC and DMC) to be sent to PGIMER, Chandigarh. Similarly stored samples from each private lab approved for testing to be sent to nearest govt lab on the monthly basis. He also made it clear that results of samples being sent would not be shared with lab conducting quality audit.
