TIRUCHI
Following the arrival of the rapid test kits in Tamil Nadu on Friday, the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital (MGMGH) was handed over 1000 kits on Friday morning and that were put to use immediately.
The doctors first tested frontline workers, including police personnel, healthcare providers and nurses working at the isolation ward at the GH.
Collector S. Sivarasu said that 15 tests were taken and all of them were negative. The kits will also be distributed to the Department of Public Health where tests will be conducted in containment zones, he said.
The rapid test detects whether a person has developed antibodies to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
The results of the test take around 30 minutes, official sources at the MGMGH said. “It is like a diabetes test. A needle is used to prick a finger of a patient, and a drop of blood is put on a designated location on the tester. The test will immediately show one bar for negative and two bars for positive,” a doctor said. It is also easier to perform and can be done with little or no additional equipment.
This is, however, only a screening test, the doctor insisted. In case a test indicates positive, a throat swab will immediately be lifted, they said. The test will speed up the screening process, especially in containment zones and hotspots.
The doctor said more kits are expected.
