As the wait for the rapid test kits continue, Tamil Nadu is all set to expand its testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to senior officials and doctors.
A senior doctor said the State was moving towards “liberal” testing. “It will be test, test, test from now. People need to cooperate for two weeks. We are screening all contacts of positive patients and those with symptoms. The Chennai Corporation has set up 10 centres for lifting swabs, and it is important that people voluntarily go for testing. We do not want the community spread of COVID-19 to happen,” he said.
“There is a delay in receiving the rapid test kits. But we want to expand the testing by utilising the existing RT-PCR machines. We are continuously monitoring the secondary contacts of persons, who have tested positive, in the containment zone. Testing of these persons will be completed in one or two days. Simultaneously, we are monitoring persons with severe acute respiratory infections across the State,” a health official said.
The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has placed orders for four lakh rapid test kits. “The Government of India authorities have requested China to supply the kits,” another official said.
The number of samples being tested had been increasing since the start of April.
As on April 1, the number of samples tested in the State since February stood at 2,726.
In the next few days, the samples lifted for testing increased, crossing the 5,000 mark on April 6.
For the first time, the number of samples lifted increased by over 1,000 on April 9.
While 1,094 samples were under process as on April 11, the day saw the highest number of samples lifted till date.
From 8,410 samples on April 10, the number increased to 9,842, adding 1,432 to the list.
