india

Updated: Apr 19, 2020 08:13 IST

In the first round of rapid-testing in Rajasthan to detect carriers or super spreaders of the Sars-Cov-2 virus most tests results were negative, officials said on Saturday, as other states started working on conducting tests from Sunday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also advised antibody tests in Covid-19 hotspots which will ensure faster detection of cases and give more time to authorities to contain community spread. Once a person tests positive after the antibody test, the PCR test has to be done to confirm the result, which takes anywhere between 24 to 48 hours. While antibody test is based on blood samples, the PCR test is based on throat swab.

Most state government officials on Saturday said they have received the rapid test kits (RTKs). They, however, said the kits were very less as compared to the demand. India had received 6,50,000 kits from China on Friday, which has been distributed to the states. Most states have set up additional quarantine centres to keep the persons, who test positive in rapid testing.

Rajasthan got 10,000 rapid test kits on Friday and 52 samples were tested, all of which were negative. On Saturday, 5,000 tests were conducted in Jaipur’s walled city, from where most number of cases have been reported.

Rohit Singh, additional chief secretary, health, said the rapid tests would help the government in the ongoing containment exercise as people tested positive will be quickly isolated to prevent further spread. “This is part of our strategy to use an optimal mix of both types of tests for effective containment in an aggressive manner,” he said.

Rajasthan became the first state to conduct the rapid tests on Friday as 52 people in the walled city were tested with these kits. All of them tested negative. The state will get 1 lakh testing kits soon, said health minister Raghu Sharma on Saturday.

The Chhattisgarh government would be procuring high-quality Covid-19 rapid testing kits from a South Korean company within the next 10 days, the state’s health minister TS Singh Deo said Saturday.

“As per the tender, the kits will arrive in the next seven to ten days. The South Korean company based in India was the lowest bidder. The rate we have been able to close at (Rs 337 per kit) is the lowest in India,” he said.

The Chhattisgarh government had earlier cancelled two short tenders for the purchase of rapid testing kits in the last 15 days. The state has reported 36 cases of Covid-19 out of which 24 people have been discharged.

Chhattisgarh is the second state after Andhra Pradesh to import kits from South Korea. Andhra Pradesh received one lakh kits from South Korea on Friday, which was dispatched to districts on Saturday. “The rapid antibody tests would commence in a day or two and it would improve the efficiency of the testing significantly,” special chief secretary (health) K S Jawahar Reddy said at a review meeting conducted by the chief minister on Saturday.

A Punjab government official said that the state has 10,100 rapid testing kits from ICMR and these are being used for testing in 24 hotspots identified by the government. The state government will collect all the data available after rapid testing exercise on Saturday, said Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state health department’s official spokesperson for Covid-19.

This is second batch of antibody tests kits received by the state. On Monday, the state received 1,000 kits, which was used to conduct tests in Mohali and Jalandhar. Total seven of the 1,000 tested were found to be positive, another state government official said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the first tests from the kits in Meerut and Saharanpur have come negative, officials said, adding that 8,500 kits received would be used in each of the 17 worst Covid affected sub-divisions of the state.

The officials in Bihar, Uttarkahand and Himachal Pradesh said that they have received the kits though the number was inadequate considering the demand to conduct the tests. “The number of kits we have received (3,400) so far is very less against our demand,” said National Health Mission Director Nipun Jindal in Himachal Pradesh. Sanjay Kumar, Bihar’s principal secretary, health, said, “This is the first tranche of antibody-based rapid test kits we received. The department is formulating a comprehensive strategy for its prudent usage.” Bihar has received 6,240 rapid test kits.

Karnataka’s health and family welfare department secretary, Jawaid Akhter said the 11,400 kits given by the Centre have been sent to NIMHANS for testing to ensure the efficacy of the kits. “Once they are certified by our local authorities, they will be deployed in different districts of the state over the next few days,” he said. Rajasthan also gave 100 kits to SMS medical college in Jaipur for their reliability, after which a go-ahead will be given for their distribution throughout the state, officials said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the 42,000 RTKs received on Sunday will be used to conduct random tests in the 71 containment zones of the city. Jammu and Kashmir health commissioner, Atul Duloo, said that 12,000 kits were received by the government on Saturday and will be used soon in hotspots for testing.

In Kerala, 25,000 rapid test kits have arrived, said a senior official of the health department, adding these kits will be used in worst-hit Kasaragode and Kannur districts in a couple of days. Since there is no threat of massive community spread, the use of these kits will be minimum in Kerala, he said. On Saturday four fresh cases were reported taking the total of positive cases to 399.

Maharashtra government has not received the kits. “We are yet to receive antibody tests kits. We will have to follow certain protocols before starting to conduct the tests even after receiving them,” said Dr Pradeep Vyas, principal secretary, state health department, Maharashtra.

(With inputs from state bureaus)