District officials ramp up COVID-19 testing to prevent virus spread

Number of daily tests increased from around 2,000 to 6,500, says DMHO

The Health Department has increased testing at various places to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus in the district, in the wake of the increase in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the State and a few other States in the country.

During February, the district witnessed 268 cases. On an average, the number of cases reported per day was 9.5. Six persons died due to the virus. It may be noted that between February 28 and March 13, the total number of cases reported was190. On an average, 14 cases are being reported per day. Fortunately, no deaths were reported.

District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) P Suryanarayana said that during February, the total number of tests conducted in the district on a daily basis was around 2,000. However as a precautionary measure, amid fears of the possible second wave, around 6,500 to 7,500 tests were being conducted every day in the district in March, he said.

‘No need to panic’

“Since we are conducting tests very extensively, there is a very slight increase in cases, may be more than five to 10. But positivity ratio is less than 0.2 %. There is no need to panic at all,” he said.

According to the DMHO, among the positive cases being reported from the district, over 90 % of them are asymptomatic. Recently, four children from a couple of schools tested positive and all of them are asymptomatic. “We have traced and tested all primary and secondary contacts of the four students. The results are awaited. They are totally asymptomatic and all were quarantined,” he added.