KOCHI: As many as 18 private labs in the district have got approval for Covid antigen testing. Presently roping in private laboratories in the district, around 3,200 to 4,000 tests are being carried out on a daily basis and with more private labs joining the numbers are likely to go up.“Though RT-PCR and CBNAAT are confirmatory tests, in the case of testing in a cluster or where there is possibility of Covid spread, antigen testing can be done. Symptomatic persons in clusters were subjected to antigen testing and those turned positive in antigen tests were considered as Covid positive,” said a health official.
“Not just in government testing labs, we are also counting those tested positive by private labs as well and with more labs permitted to test, we expect to increase the testing further,” added the health official. Three private labs in the district are presently approved for RT-PCR tests, DDRC SRL Diagnostics services, Medivision Scan and Diagnostic Research Centre, and Neuberg Diagnostics are among those. CBNAAT tests are conducted at AIMS, Aster Medcity, Rajagiri, and Lakeshore Hospital, and TRUENAAT tests are conducted at EI Lab Metropolis, Lisie Hospital, and INHS Sanjivani.
RT-PCR costs `2,750 and CBNAAT `3,000 and in the case of TRUENAAT if the first test result is positive then it requires another confirmatory test and each costs `1,500. However, if it is negative, there is no need for any confirmatory test. For the antigen test price is fixed at `625.
Three booked for defying quarantine
Kochi: Rural police on Saturday booked three persons, including two Bengaluru natives, for defying quarantine. A case was registered against Zakir Hussain and Akash Ahmed of Bengaluru and Yusuf of Airapuram, said police. Zakir and Akash arrived at Airapuram from Bengaluru on July 19. Yusuf, a labour contractor, brought them and arranged their stay.
Collector’s Covid test turns negative
Kochi: The district medical officer informed that the Covid test result of District Collector S Suhas, who went in home quarantine last week, is negative. The collector went in home quarantine after officials of a club handed over goods for the FLTC( First-Line Treatment Centre) of Vazhakulam panchayat to the collector. One of them tested positive.