Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district procures 6,400 rapid testing kits

CHAMARAJANAGAR: As the district continues to register a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, Chamarajanagar administration has procured 6,400 rapid testing kits.
The district health authorities are in the process of receiving another 2,000 kits by the end of this month as the district foresees a surge in cases, revealed the sources in the district administration.
The district has tested over 28,000 samples and 95% of them were negative.As many as 1,320 samples from across the district tested positive for Covid-19 in both RTPCR and antigen tests as on Tuesday.
The authorities have decided to strengthen tracking and testing in all containment zones and all primary health centres to curb the virus spread.
Currently, the mobile units are collecting the swabs of suspected patients and those with symptoms in both urban and rural pockets, particularly in containment zones and testing the samples using the rapid kits.
Apart from keeping close vigil over 1,568 primary and secondary contacts, the district administration has also identified 34,205 individuals as special cases, including pregnant women and patients suffering from lung, kidney and other problems, to conduct these tests to check the spread.
Speaking to TOI, district health officer Dr Ravi said as per the health department norms, the district is conducting both the RT-PCR and antigen test. “We are now testing up to 800 samples daily after the arrival of kits,” he added.
“Rapid testing is one of the best ways to identify community spread. Within a half hour, one can get their samples tested with these kits, while RT-PCR testing would take six to seven hours. However, one cannot fully rely on these rapid tests, as the results may vary. In such cases, they will be recommended for RT-PCR tests for the accurate results”, he said.