As part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19, the State government has supplied 20,000 RT-PCR additional testing kits to the laboratory of K.A.P. Viswanatham Medical College Hospital in Tiruchi.
Highly placed sources told The Hindu that the testing kits would facilitate health officials to collect as many samples as possible in Tiruchi city and all 14 blocks in the district. The fresh consignment was sufficient to meet the testing requirement for the next 10 to 15 days. In addition to the testing kits, the Tamil Nadu Medical Supplies Corporation (TNMSC) has also sent consumables meant for collecting samples and testing them.
The laboratory receives samples from 50 Primary Health Centres, 15 Community Health Centres, 20 Urban Primary Health Centres and 20 Government Headquarters Hospitals. There has been a slight decrease in interest among the people in getting themselves tested for COVID-19 in recent days. However, instruction has been given to field officials to collect as many samples as possible, the official added.
“We expected a spike in the number of fresh cases during Deepavali mainly due to heavy rush in market areas and poor compliance of physical distancing norms prior to the festival. However, we feel relieved that the spike has not been in the scale we apprehended,” Dr. Lakshmi, Head, Department of Microbiology, KAP. Viswanatham Medical College Hospital, Tiruchi, said.
“We run close to 2,000 tests a day. On Sunday, we completed about 1,000 tests. It was sad to see many patients testing positive until recently. It is not the same story nowadays. We come across only a handful of positive cases. Most tests turn negative,” she added.
The physician said 2.34 lakh RT-PCR tests had been conducted so far since March 24. There was no dearth of testing kits. The laboratory received 15,000 to 20,000 testing kits once in 10 days. It facilitated ramping up the testing. The total testing would cross 2.5-lakh mark within this month.
“There has been no significant rise in cases for the last 15 to 20 days. The next 15 days are crucial in the fight against the virus. We closely analyse the results of swab samples in each and every block on a daily basis,” she said.
