When asked how would they validate if there have been any false positives and false negatives during these tests at the private labs, the question was left unanswered at the press conference. Major differenceAround 10 days after the State government officials permitted private labs in the State to conduct coronavirus tests, the DPH stated in the daily medical bulletin on June 25 that they have observed serious abnormalities in COVID-19 test results uploaded by private labs. Four teams of microbiologists and senior officials inspected 16 private labs in Hyderabad where they checked various aspects such as infection control measures, infrastructure, human resources, and others such as general hygiene. Pooled sampleThe Committee suspected that a few labs did not follow correct procedure in conducting pooled samples tests. If the pool tests positive, then all 5 samples have to be tested individually to know how many of them are positive.

Source: The Hindu July 04, 2020 15:56 UTC