People avoid Covid-19 testing in Bengaluru

Swab collectors are going to industries, offices and apartments, but not many people are coming forward to be tested

The BBMP is sending swab collectors to apartment blocks, but not many people are willing to be tested.

IAS officer Munish Moudgil, in charge of the Karnataka State Covid-19 War Room, says, “People don’t want to cooperate. They even object to a free test, but they expect the city to keep Covid under control.”

He says he understands the fear, but testing need not be shunned. “I got myself tested five times and have gone around to collect swabs as well,” he says. He believes intervention at an earlier stage is for the best.

However, a trust deficit exists, and many people Metrolife spoke to believe they could become victims of false, or worse, fudged outcomes.

“People are afraid testing would mean they are at the mercy of municipal officials who might give false positive reports,” a resident of an apartment block in south Bengaluru says.

The corporator organised a camp, with a medical team visiting the upmarket apartment block, but no one volunteered to be tested.

Moudgil says anyone who avoids testing on flimsy grounds has no sense of social responsibility.

“If I am asked to be quarantined for the benefit of the society, I should comply,” he says.

Swab collectors

Meanwhile, the municipal authorities are hiring swab collectors in large numbers.

They are temporary workers, and get paid an honorarium of Rs 14,000.

Randeep D, special commissioner, BBMP, says the zonal coordinators and joint commissioners make mobile teams of swab collectors and link them to a primary healthcare centre.

“They are given test kits and PPEs and assigned their responsibilities,” he says.
Moudgil says few want to become swab collectors, given the risks, but that doesn’t mean there is a shortage of staff.

“We have managed to build a team through our internal government staff. Asha workers are contributing greatly to this,” he adds.

The project coordinator for testing in the Bommanahalli area says swab collectors work with daily targets.

“Sometimes there might be a shortfall, and it is covered the next day,” he says.

Swab collectors have a WhatsApp group with the joint commissioner, Captain Manivannan, minister Suresh Kumar and all ground staff.

Webinars, meetings

Vikram Rai, general secretary of the Bengaluru Apartments Federation, says people avoid testing because of the stigma associated with the disease.

“The moment someone tests positive there is an air of suspicion and they are isolated. This can be a difficult ordeal for many,” he says.

He adds that there is also a fear of swab collectors. “It’s the same fear people have of going to the hospital. Swab collectors are more likely to have come in contact with a Covid-positive person,” he says.

Rai has been working closely with the BBMP to help alleviate these fears. “While I know that these risks are minimal and testing is the best option to control this disease, it’s not fair of us to expect the lay person to know that,” he says.

His organisation has organised webinars where RWAs and residents can ask questions and have their doubts clarified by the BBMP. “These confidence building exercises translate to higher testing,” he says.

The Bommanahalli project coordinator says resistance is mostly because of rumours and fake news spread against the BBMP.

“Test early and recover early is the mantra we are talking about. Most Covid deaths could have been averted had the patients got tested early,” he says.

Fear of big fat hospital bills

Another reason many have been reluctant to get tested is the looming hospital bills.

Moudgil says asymptomatic people should not go to the hospital, unless there is a comorbidity. “If those with comorbidities don’t want to get tested because of hospital fees, they will die,” he says, bluntly.

Anyone who is Covid positive gets free treatment from the government. “There is a government quota in most hospitals. But if you are insistent that you want to go to a particular hospital where the quota is filled, you cannot complain about the bills. It was your choice,” he says.