This Sole Microbiologist At Almora Medical College Is Working 24*7 To Keep COVID Testing Going On
Devrari is the sole microbiologist among 21 doctors who have been recruited for the job. With a team of four lab technicians, Devrari has been working without a single day off for almost six months now.
With the rise in COVID cases across the country, getting tested for the virus is becoming a problem as labs are having a hard time keeping up. In order to lend a helping hand, Jitendra Devrari has put himself to work at Almora Medical College which is the only state-run testing centre.
Devrari is the sole microbiologist among 21 doctors who have been recruited for the job. With a team of four lab technicians, Devrari has been working without a single day off for almost six months now.
TOI (Jitendra Devrari)
Under the guidance of the principal of Almora Medical College, RG Nautiyal, the government COVID-19 testing facility was set up.
"I knew how crucial the responsibility was when I accepted the position. These days, the workload has increased. I am at the facility 24x7, testing samples day and night ¡ Sometimes, I forget to eat or just don¡¯t get the time to. But that is what is needed right now," said Devrari.
Fortunately, he lives close to the testing facility and like he said, ¡°no time is wasted¡±.
SC Gadkoti, medical superintendent of Base Hospital, which is attached to the Almora Medical College, said, ¡°His presence has been a huge support for us. No matter what we need, how many samples we send, he doesn¡¯t leave until all the samples for the day are tested.¡±
Nautiyal added: ¡°He has been shouldering the responsibility of the testing lab on his own since we started. It is very difficult to get doctors to come to the hills, but he didn¡¯t seem unsure even for a moment.¡±
The lab tests between 900 and 1,100 samples a day.
¡°I have tested about 25,000 samples so far,¡± Devrari said.
Almora Medical College
Sometimes, samples would go missing and test results would take days. Now, with the lab set up in Almora, test results take four hours. Almora has had 4,302 Covid-19 cases so far, 597 of which are active now.
Devrari, the son of a retired Army personnel, revealed that his family was initially worried about his work. He said, ¡°They were concerned about my well-being but my father explained to them that my job is a social responsibility ¡ª I could not turn my back on people."
