Tamil Nadu has so far spent approximately ₹480 crore on procuring RT-PCR testing kits for COVID-19. It has placed direct orders for 1,09,03,428 testing kits through the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the State has been relying only on RT-PCR tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19.
Gold standard
Officials have maintained that RT-PCR tests are the gold standard for COVID-19 testing and as a policy, had decided against the use of rapid antigen diagnostic tests. As a result, Tamil Nadu has done 100% testing by RT-PCR kits.
Till date, a total of 1,58,60,674 samples have been tested by the method. The total number of persons covered so far stands at 1,55,49,828.
These were done through government laboratory tests, government free test samples sent to private laboratories and paid tests by individuals in private laboratories.
“Around ₹480 crore has been spent on testing kits till now. We have procured only USFDA/CE-IVD-approved RT-PCR kits to ensure quality testing at government laboratories. We are importing kits from the U.S. and South Korea,” an official said.
TNMSC officials said so far, the State government, through TNMSC, had placed direct orders for 1,09,03,428 testing kits, of which 1,02,59,428 had been supplied as of January 27.
The Centre had supplied 2,78,256 kits as one-time supply in the initial three months of the pandemic, while 63,516 were received as donations from private firms. With this, TNMSC has received a total of 1,06,01,200 kits.
Balance stock
It released 98,49,472 kits to the field, and has a balance stock of 7,51,728. At the field level, 9,78,064 kits are available.
Officials added that as on date, 17,29,792 kits were available with TNMSC and on the field.
“This is approximately a six weeks’ requirement as per the current testing trends in government institutions,” the official said.
An authority at a government medical college hospital said test kits were freely available and supplied in advance based on previous month’s utilisation.
