BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Government on Saturday started antibody tests in the COVID-19 hotspot Bhubaneswar. It will continue along with the test of swab samples collected from different regions in the City. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has provided 6000 rapid kits to Odisha in the first phase for this purpose. The kits will be used to test health professionals and service providers like police, sanitation workers, vendors and other emergency workers.
Health Secretary Nikunja Bihari Dhal said antibody test can detect if a person has developed coronavirus antibodies. The test, carried out by a kit with blood sample, checks antibodies to ascertain if they have already gained immunity to the virus. “If the antibody test comes positive, the person’s swab samples will be sent for RT-PCR tests to get it confirmed whether he/she has coronavirus. Since the rapid tests can be done in about 15 to 20 minutes, it will help initial screening,” he said.
This apart, health teams have started collecting samples from different locations in the City. Samples of people with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI) are being collected besides random sampling of asymptomatic people. As many as 788 samples were collected on Friday, while 756 samples were collected in the first half of Saturday. The sample collection will continue till next Thursday as the Government has planned to test 5000 samples in a week.
Khurda district has been declared as a hotspot as Bhubaneswar has recorded more than 15 positive cases, Dhal said and informed that the rate of test in the City is highest among the major metropolitan cities which are counted as hotspots.At least 190 samples per one lakh population in Bhubaneswar have been tested as compared to 180 tests in Mumbai and 92 in New Delhi.
“We have ramped up tests in the City in last one week. From 226 tests between March 21 and 27, it has reached 5,072 tests during the period from April 11 to 17. As many as 3,082 tests have been conducted in last three days. We have now seven labs where RT-PCR tests are being carried out,” he said. Meanwhile, VIMSAR at Burla has got the ICMR nod for COVID-19 test.
Progress so far
788 samples collected on Friday
3,082 tests conducted in last 3 days
Government has planned to test 5000 samples in a week