Dhaka based international health research organization icddr,b (formerly known as the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) has been helping the Bangladesh government by providing coronavirus testing support. So far they have tested more than twenty-seven thousand samples. icddr,b has globally recognized testing facility and Bangladeshi health caregivers have always been appreciating its reliability.
To date, common people were not allowed to get covid-19 RT-PCR testing facility from icddr,b laboratory. This lab tested only government provided samples. In recent months patients have been complaining about mismanagement of government testing facilities. Police have arrested some private hospital personnel for producing fake testing reports. There are many reports that hospitals have refused to treat patients suffering from other illnesses before getting covid-19 negative report. But to get a serial for testing is not easy. Patients have to wait several days to get an appointment and in many cases, patients had to wait more than a week to get the report. Meanwhile patient didn’t get any treatment and eventually some patients died without treatment.
So this latest move by icddr,b lab which is widely appreciated for better management will relieve many. According to the notice issued by icddr,b, patients will not require to stand in a long queue. They just need to register online for appointments through http://covid19test.icddrb.org and they can make payment online using debit/credit card or mobile banking account. Testing fee per person will be 3,500 taka. Only one attendant will be allowed per patient and they must wear face mask. Reports will be delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Samples will be collected from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm every day. icddr,b officials have pledged to widen the opportunity in near future.
