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‘Untouchables’: how India’s coronavirus testers risk both infection and discrimination
- As more Covid-19 tests are conducted in India, health workers say they face discrimination and poor working conditions
- This comes as India recorded a record 49,310 new coronavirus cases in a day, and its death toll passed 30,000
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Since March this year, Anil Gautam, a phlebotomist and swab technician, has changed into about 10 personal protective equipment (PPE) suits each day as he tests for new coronavirus cases in India’s capital.
The suits do not allow air to pass through, making them uncomfortably hot. But it’s the patients that make his working conditions even more unbearable.
They often ask him to conduct testing procedures in their society gardens or corridors, where temperatures can rise well above 40 degrees Celsius.
“They [patients] don’t want you in their homes,” said Gautam, 40, who works for Dr Dang’s Lab in New Delhi. “Such insensitive behaviour makes me want to quit.”
According to a 2018 study by staffing recruitment firm TeamLease Services, India has 95,000-125,000 phlebotomists – experts at drawing blood samples of patients for laboratory tests. Today they are primarily working as swab technicians, fulfilling the World Health Organisation’s repeated directive to battle Covid-19: test, test, test.
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