Covid test centres in all government medical colleges and hospitals in Calcutta will remain operational during Durga Puja.

Each will have 14 laboratory technicians working in three shifts under the supervision of molecular biologists, the health department has decided.

A team of four technicians will be present in each of the three shifts at each of the six medical colleges and hospitals in Calcutta, including College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital in Kamarhati, where Covid tests are being conducted.

Two technicians will be kept on standby in case of manpower shortage.

A similar arrangement will be kept ready at the School of Tropical Medicine and MR Bangur Hospital, too, where Covid tests are being done.

The health department has recently completed the process of recruiting additional laboratory technicians at a monthly salary in the range of Rs 16,560-17,220. All of them have been sent to testing laboratories in Calcutta and in the districts.

“There will be no holidays for laboratory technicians during Durga Puja. If any technician wants a leave, he/she may go on leave for a day or two now,” a health department official said after a coordination meeting with institutional heads on Monday.

“A molecular biologist on duty at a particular laboratory will interpret the test results. The heads will have to draw up duty rosters accordingly,” the official said.

On September 24, during a coordination meeting with puja organisers, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had asked the health department to ensure there were adequate arrangements across all hospitals during Durga Puja. No patient should face any difficulty, she had said.

On Monday, health department officials discussed ways of running laboratories during the festive days so that no Covid suspect is denied an opportunity to get him/herself tested.

Among the various steps discussed, it was decided if needed required laboratory technicians would have to work “overtime” and that they would be adequately compensated. Arrangements will be made for late-night home drops for technicians during the puja days if needed.

The School of Tropical Medicine receives samples from Howrah and RG Kar Medical College and Hospital receives a part of its daily samples from North 24-Parganas for Covid tests.

“All institutional heads have been told to ensure every laboratory nodal officer remains in touch with district magistrates to receive samples from the adjoining districts,” a health department official said.

Bengal has been testing 38,000-40,000 samples every day and the health department official said they were gearing up to take on additional load in case there was a spike in the Covid numbers during or after the pujas.

“In Calcutta, more than 90 per cent of Covid tests are being done through the RT-PCR method and not the rapid antigen way,” a senior doctor Sasthya Bhavan overseeing the arrangements said. “Accordingly, reagents and other necessary laboratory items have been sent to various test locations.”

On Friday, the state’s chief secretary, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, had held a meeting with health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam to discuss the preparedness of both government and private hospitals during the Pujas.

The meeting at Sasthya Bhavan on Monday follows that.

“We are trying to put in place a system in all government hospitals to enhance their services during the festive season. Tests will remain a crucial part of this arrangement,” a health department official said.