After incidents of private labs producing fake polymerase chain reaction test reports surfaced, the government has updated the list of labs that can conduct PCR tests and issue reports for individuals planning to go abroad.
The National Public Health Laboratory, under the Department of Health Services, has decided that besides enlisted government facilities across the country, only five private labs can test Covid-19 on international passengers from now onwards.
“The decision about the upgrading list of labs for conducting tests of those going on international travel has been made,” Dr Runa Jha, director of the National Public Health Laboratory, told the Post. “The public notice regarding the decision will be out tomorrow [on Sunday].
According to the latest decision, five facilities— Star Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal Medicity Hospital, Lalitpur, HAMS Hospital, Kathmandu, Manmohan Memorial Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, and Universal College of Medical Science, Bhairahawa—will be allowed to take swab samples, conduct test and issue Covid-19 reports to the general public planning to go abroad.
Passengers usually need to show a negative virus test report completed less than 72 hours before departure.
The decision has come in the wake of an incident, when many flying passengers were found to be carrying dubious Covid-19 negative test certificates, raising questions over the credibility of such reports issued by private labs.
On Wednesday, a total of 172 passengers of three international flights were barred by the authorities at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu from flying abroad as they had received Covid-19 reports from the labs that were found to be producing fake Covid-19 reports for international passengers.
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