KOZHIKODE: Among the 11 categories of people among whom random antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection has commenced, the most prioritised are the two vulnerable categories — people above 60 and those in institutional/home quarantine. As per the allocation of testing kits to various groups, the highest -- 200 each -- has been earmarked for these two sections. “Naturally, more people from these two groups should be tested as they fall in the vulnerable categories. Their blood samples will be collected at their residences or the institutional quarantine facilities concerned,” said Dr S Soumya, Wayanad district surveillance officer (DSO). The objective of antibody testing is to identify community transmission and herd immunity in specific populations.
Five health blocks will be selected randomly in each district from which the samples should be collected. A maximum of two persons meeting the criteria per household should be selected for home collection. The DSO shall select health blocks where the persons under home quarantine are more than 50. Five such health blocks shall be selected randomly.
The number of persons to be selected from institutional quarantine should be based on the proportion of persons in institutional quarantine to the total persons in quarantine. A 1,000 kits each have been provided to Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod, Malappuram, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram districts, and the other districts have been given 500 kits each. The state is expected to do 15,000 tests in a week.
Allocation of kits IN EACH OF THE 6 DISTS
Health workers of Covid hospitals 100
Health workers of non-Covid hospitals 100
Police, field health worker, media etc 100
Workers in grocery shops, delivery boys 50
People in contact with truck drivers 25
Guest workers 50Those in home and institutional quarantine 200
Those above 60 years 200
Acute respiratory infection (ARI) patients 50
Epidemiological samples 50
Expatriates 50