The Punjab government on Tuesday launched rapid testing facility in two districts to cover all the 17 hotspots of COVID-19 in a phased manner, even as one more death was reported taking the toll to 13. The Health department said the patient who died was from Jalandhar. The State also reported eight fresh cases taking the number to 184. It said 27 patients had so far been cured.
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The government also announced that the State would follow complete lockdown till May 3.
Additional Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the State government had received 1,000 rapid testing kits from the ICMR. “The two districts including SAS Nagar (Mohali) and Jalandhar have been given 500 kits each to start the process.” She said the facility is likely to be extended to other districts, according to the situation and the availability of the kits.
The testing would initially be done for all patients attending the flu corners of the government health facilities, who have symptoms for more than seven days. It is a single prick to take blood sample and the result is available in 15 minutes.
Ms. Mahajan said instructions had been given to the districts to submit daily reports of the tests conducted along with the results. “A portal had been created by the Department of Health — www.covid-19punjab.in — to gather real-time information on testing and recording patient’s profile.”
The State government has ordered 10 lakh rapid testing kits from the ICMR, with inquiries raised for another 10,000 in the open market. “With testing being the key to controlling the spread of the pandemic, the government is planning to continuously expand its testing facilities, including that of rapid testing, over the next few days,” she said.
