Chamarajanagar authorities ensures Covid-19 test results at the earliest

MYSURU: Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, one district in Karnataka has been faring relatively better than its neighbours in the state: Chamarajanagar.
The border district’s tally of active cases, as on Saturday, stood at 1,141. Among the reasons why Chamarajanagar has been more successful in containing the Covid 19 spread is the efficiency of its testing system.
Data from the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) portal shows that the average time taken between collection of swabs from people to their delivery in the laboratories is the least among all districts of Karnataka in Chamarajanagar. This means that people learn of the results much sooner, thereby helping isolating those confirmed infected before it can spread among a wider section of the populace.
In Chamarajanagar, people can expect results of their Covid-19 tests in a day, while, in some cases, results are announced within three hours of the laboratories receiving the sample.
Chamarajanagar deputy commissioner MR Ravi said only those samples collected within a 24-hour period were subjected to tests at the district laboratory. “All the samples are segregated twice every day, and results issued within 24 hours. We have streamlined the process of collecting swabs, and have two teams dedicated to this,” he added.
The DC admitted to the edge that the reduced delay in issuance of results gave the district administration in curbing the spread of the infection. “This way, people can take precautionary measures much sooner, and this greatly reduces the number of people an infected individual comes in contact with,” Ravi said.