Over 63 per cent tests in Bhubaneswar through RT-PCR
BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday said, over 63 percent of Covid tests conducted in government laboratories are through RT-PCR.
As on September 8, a total 1,52,674 Covid-19 tests have been conducted in BMC jurisdiction of which 14,492 samples tested positive. The Capital currently reports a cumulative case positivity rate (CPR) of 9.49 per cent, a three per cent rise since August 21.
On August 21, when the number of tests crossed 1 lakh mark, the cumulative CPR stood at 6.43 per cent. The totally tally back then were 6,720.
“We are conducting Covid tests for around 3,000 to 3,500 people daily. Given the population size and area of the corporation, we are doing a good number of testing in Bhubaneswar,’’ Municipal Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary claimed.
Of the total tests conducted so far, at least 1,05,990 tests were done at various government-run test labs, while 46,684 tests were conducted at private facilities. While as many as 66,891 tests were done through Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), 38,478 were done through Rapid Antigen Test and 621 through True-NAT. RT-PCR is considered the most reliable.
The BMC said, more tests have led to detection of more number cases and should help BMC isolate patients immediately and prevent the spread effectively.
The BMC said it along with Health Department is now conducing tests at 39 different locations in the city.
“A total 23 CHCs and PHCs have permanent testing centres where people can go and test themselves free of cost, while test facility is also available in Capital Hospital and seven to eight private labs,” Chaudhary said. Besides, the civic body is organising seven to eight camps every day in different locations for collection of swab samples.
The mobile testing van has also contributed in boosting the testing figures as it is jointly managed by Capital Hospital and BMC. The Capital Hospital has contributed the most as there are 14 teams facilitating it. Ten mobile teams of Capital Hospital fan out to different places across the city, three teams manage the in-house requirements while one team goes with the mobile testing van, which was launched on August 2.
The civic body reported 427 new cases and two more fatalities in last 24 hours. It also reported 401 recoveries during the same period. The total number of active cases now stands at 5,077.