Rajasthan became the first State to carry out rapid testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) on Friday. Beginning at 5 p.m., 52 persons were tested at the Urban Primary Health Centre in Jaipur’s Topkhana Desh locality, also known as the Jaju Government Dispensary. All the 52 persons tested negative.
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Though the rapid test is not a confirmatory diagnosis for the SARS-CoV-2 infection, it helps in quickly isolating a person who tests positive in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Additional Chief Secretary (Medical & Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said that the tests would be conducted on a large scale to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the hotspots — both in the containment and the buffer zones around the clusters. “The tests will be done at designated points on people with symptoms and on super spreaders, who are the persons likely to be in contact with multiple people, such as vegetable vendors, shopkeepers and grocery store persons.”
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In addition to rapid testing, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based testing would continue to be done in an aggressive manner in the containment zones all over the State. Mr. Singh affirmed that a “judicious mix” of PCR-based testing and rapid testing would help Rajasthan control and manage COVID-19 in an efficient manner.
Mr. Singh said that 5,000 rapid tests would be done on Saturday in Jaipur’s curfew-bound Ramganj locality, which had emerged as the State’s biggest hotspot, in addition to the ongoing PCR-based tests. The data collection of rapid tests was being done through an app developed by the State government for an expeditious analysis of results, he said.
“Rapid tests in Ramganj will help us in the ongoing containment exercise, as the persons tested positive will be quickly isolated to prevent the spread further,” Mr. Singh said, adding that this would form part of the strategy to use an optimal mix of both types of tests for effective containment in an aggressive manner.
