Karnataka: Haveri faces shortage of testing kits

HAVERI: A severe shortage of rapid antigen kits is resulting in a delay in ramping up testing in Haveri district, officials say. Officials say a target of 1,000 tests daily is ideal, but the district administration has failed to achieve it due to insufficient testing kits. Currently, the district administration conducts 300 tests with RT-PCR kits and 200 tests with rapid antigen kits (RAT).
Health department officials say workers in the district collected 4,000 swab samples between August 20 and 30, including from symptomatic people and primary and secondary contacts of positive patients.This is the least number of tests compared to other districts.
Deputy commissioner Sanjay Shettanavar admitted, “We are facing a scarcity of rapid antigen kits and we have asked the government to supply more kits. Despite the scarcity, we are doing our best to trace and test contacts, while also ensuring positive patients get treatment on time. The pandemic is still under control in the district.”
However, a health department official said the district has to increase Covid tests to at least 1,000 a day to get a grip on things. “This will help trace and treat, but we are unable to increase tests,” the official said.
District health officer Dr Rajendra Doddamani, while denying there were targets for testing, said the government has promised to supply sufficient kits soon.