COVID testing hesitancy a new headache for doctors
The Hindu
Healthcare professionals say reluctance of symptomatic persons to get tested could cause a lot of harm to their own health
Notwithstanding two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain individuals have been found to be resisting routine medical tests and procedures. With the ongoing surge in COVID cases, such reluctance could prove detrimental to their health, opine healthcare professionals.
Doctors at government hospitals, who attend patients with the symptoms, say many of them are reluctant to undergo COVID diagnostic tests while some others are curious to know if they have contracted the Delta or Omicron variant. Then there are those who have been requesting ‘tests’ for Omicron diagnosis. There is also a category of people who are consulting doctors but do not want to know their infection status.
Doctors say reluctance to get tested could do more harm to the COVID-positive person and to society at large. Since infection with Delta variant could lead to aggravated condition in just a matter of few days, doctors have urged people not to resist tests if they have symptoms.