PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry has asked JIPMER to enhance COVID-19 testing in its ICMR laboratory to 150 per day, even as the number of active cases came down to four on Saturday and no new case was detected in the past 17 days.
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said at a press conference that 4000 RT-PCR test kits had been provided to JIPMER on Friday. “At present, the JIPMER laboratory is carrying out 60 to 70 tests per day, which we want to be enhanced to the maximum capacity of 150 tests per day,” he said.
All cases with symptoms would be tested for COVID-19. So far, 1184 samples have been tested, out of which 1017 turned out to be negative, while the results of 258 are awaited. At present 25 suspected cases are in isolation wards while 3340 persons are quarantined in the UT.
Stating that COVID-19 is under full control in the UT, he said active surveillance is continuing. The minister said teams had visited 2,35,474 houses and screened 8,96,563 persons, covering 80 percent of the population in Puducherry. The remaining 20 percent would be covered in a couple of days, he said.
Further, this would help the government get data on how many of the population remain here during the lockdown and how many are outside the UT. The government will be alerted if anyone returns to Puducherry from COVID-19 hotspots or affected areas in other states, he added.
The minister said that after introducing some relaxation on April 20, more vigil needs to be maintained as there will be movement of people to hospitals and offices in Puducherry. The government will monitor the situation from Monday and come out with appropriate strategies, he said.
Standard operating procedures (SOP) to be followed from April 20 have been circulated to all hospitals, said Secretary, Health, Prashant Kumar Panda. In addition, two batches of doctors are being trained in telemedicine.
The health department has adequate stocks of PPEs, N95 masks, monitors, ventilators with supplies arriving on Friday as well through donations by organisations, said Dr Mohan Kumar, director of health and family welfare.