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COVID-19 Testing Crisis Management Through a Public-Private Partnership in Sindh, Pakistan

Saba Jamal, Javeria Aijaz, Najam Shah, Fouzia Naseer, Maimoona Khan, Muzaffar Ali Odho and Abdul Bari Khan
Global Health: Science and Practice February 2022, 10(1):e2100308; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00308

Figures & Tables

Figures

  • FIGURE 1
    FIGURE 1

    Monthly Percentages of COVID-19 PCR Tests Conducted in Pakistana

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

    aPerformed at Indus Hospital, Karachi, the rest of Sindh, and other provinces of Pakistan respectively from March 2020 to August 2020.

  • FIGURE 2
    FIGURE 2

    Monthly Total of COVID-19 PCR Tests Conducted in Sindh, Pakistana

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

    aPerformed at Indus Hospital, Karachi, from March to August 2020. The dip in August in the total number of tests done is due to torrential rains that interrupted sample collection and transport from many remote sites of Sindh.

  • FIGURE 3
    FIGURE 3

    COVID-19 PCR Testing Outreach of Government of Sindh and IHHN Partnership

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; IHHN, Indus Hospital & Health Network; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

  • FIGURE 4
    FIGURE 4

    Month-Wise Sample Rejection Data of COVID-19 PCR Tests in Sindh, Pakistan, From March 2020–March 2021

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

  • FIGURE 5
    FIGURE 5

    Weekly Workloads and Staff Numbers at the COVID-19 PCR Laboratory at Indus Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

  • FIGURE 6
    FIGURE 6

    COVID-19 PCR Result Turnaround Times for Samples Received From Different Sites in Sindh, Pakistana

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

    aFrom March to August 2020, the turnaround times improved because of a gradual introduction of automation. From September to December 2020, times started to show an upward trend because of a gradually increasing workload of samples from remote sites for which electronic patient data entry was not an option. These times gradually reduced thereafter as more data entry staff were hired at Indus Hospital’s PCR lab to cater to the increasing workload.

  • FIGURE 7
    FIGURE 7

    Percentage of Positive Results, Internal Quality Control Failures, and Contamination After COVID-19 PCR Tests at Indus Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, From March 2020–March 2021a

    Abbreviations: COVID; coronavirus disease; IQC, internal quality control; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.

    aThe spike in January 2021 in the percentage of internal control failures is due to a shortage of automated testing kits and the use of a new, previously unused manual COVID-19 PCR testing kit supplied by the Government of Sindh. The kit was subsequently not used due to suboptimal performance.

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COVID-19 Testing Crisis Management Through a Public-Private Partnership in Sindh, Pakistan
Saba Jamal, Javeria Aijaz, Najam Shah, Fouzia Naseer, Maimoona Khan, Muzaffar Ali Odho, Abdul Bari Khan
Global Health: Science and Practice Feb 2022, 10 (1) e2100308; DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00308
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