COIMBATORE: Following a significant increase in Covid-19 testing, the positivity rate in Coimbatore district has dropped from 13 per cent at the end of August to 9.9 per cent on Sunday. Health department sources said that, till a few weeks ago, the city had been testing only 4,500 samples per day. That has now been increased to 7,000 samples per day, collected from residents and primary contacts.
"We have been directed to increase the sample size to ensure early diagnosis of infected persons and their contacts,” a senior health official said. “The district is currently witnessing a wave of new cases. We will have to maintain the testing at the current levels in order to reduce the spread of infection," the official explained. For this purpose, at least 120 fever camps are being conducted in the five zones of the city corporation to screen the residents and collect nasal samples for testing.
The district health department is still sending about 1,000 samples to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai to avoid a backlog in test results.