NEW DELHI: About 7,040 tests were conducted on the first day of the rapid antigen tests on Thursday in the national capital, which is seeing a surge in fresh Covid-19 cases.Giving the overall figures, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisoida stated that at 193 locations, 7,040 rapid antigen tests were conducted out of which 456 people were found positive. He also informed that in the first phase, people who reside in containment zones were being tested.
Antigen tests are conducted through swab nasal samples that detect antigens which are found on or within the coronavirus. Compared to RT-PCR tests, the antigen tests take less time to come up with a report. The kits, Standard Q COVID-19 Ag detection, are developed by a South Korean firm.
“It went off smoothly in this district. We did 1,059 tests on Thursday and it is expected to go up on Friday. The residents also showed good spirit, with a majority coming voluntarily. The good part is it was done very quickly. We are still collecting the lab reports of those who were tested,” said Central District Magistrate Nidhi Srivastava.
West District Magistrate Neha Bansal said she had done around 501 tests using the rapid antigen technique. “We will scale up the number. People are not yet aware of this so the numbers are less today. There were no reports of any faulty equipment. About 52 people tested positive,” she added.
South District Magistrate B M Mishra said in his area around 1,000 tests were conducted. “In the coming few days we have identified seven more locations such as dispensaries, hotels and other suitable spaces for the purpose of testing” said North District Magistrate Shashi Koushal. He added 401 tests were done out of which 20 came out positive and 513 RT PCR tests were done whose results are awaited.
East Delhi District Magistrate A K Mishra said the testing report was being compiled but the rapid antigen testing was conducted in many locations, particularly at containment zones. A total of 341 teams were involved in the testing across 169 facilities.
India has acquired six lakh rapid antigen kits of which Delhi has received 50,000 kits and per day 15,000 tests can be conducted. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy visited labs in R K Puram, Basant Gaon and Naraina. He was accompanied by his colleague, Nityanand Rai.
As per ICMR, suspected individuals who test negative for Covid by rapid-antigen test should undergo RT-PCR test to rule out the infection. A positive test does not need reconfirmation by an RT-PCR test.
The Centre had said out of a total population of 2,30,466 in 242 containment zones, a survey of 1,77,692 people was conducted on June 15-16 and the rest would be covered by June 20. The target is 18,000 tests daily by June 20.