PUDUCHERRY: Testing of COVID-19 samples will be ramped up to 1000 per day in the Union territory, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said on Friday. At present, around 448 tests are being done in two facilities of JIPMER and Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMCRI) which have a capacity of 300 tests each. This will be enhanced gradually for which steps are being taken.
The rapid antigen testing kits recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for quick diagnosis of COVID-19 will be used to enhance testing in Puducherry, said Narayanasamy. The test results would be available in 30 minutes and there would be no requirement to keep all suspected cases of COVID-19 in hospitals, which also poses a risk for infection in persons who are negative.
Besides, each rapid antigen test kit would cost only Rs 450 as against Rs 4500 for the RT-PCR test kit. As far as testing is concerned, Puducherry is in third place behind Maharashtra and New Delhi, he said.
Already, a case was registered against the proprietor of the mask manufacturing company at Mettupalayam after it became a hotspot of COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory. The company’s negligence to adhere to lockdown norms of social distancing, wearing masks and sanitization resulted in around 70 workers of the company and their contacts being infected by COVID-19. Kunichampet village from where the majority of the workers, mostly women, come to the mask manufacturing company has become a hub for COVID-19. The proprietor has also tested positive and the factory has been sealed.
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said that an average of 30 persons are getting infected by the virus daily and added that if this continued, all 700 beds at IGMCRI will be full in another ten days. JIPMER, which already has over 80 COVID-19 patients admitted, assured to provide 300 beds.
The OPD will be stopped at the IGMCRI from Friday, he said, adding that the entire hospital would be treating only COVID-19 cases. Besides, COVID care centres for treating asymptomatic cases and mild cases of COVID-19 are being established in ESI Hospital, Government Dental College as well as in private medical colleges.
He said the gvernment will observe the situation with respect to "takeaway" services in hotels for another day before taking a decision on whether to stop them or not. The Puducherry administration is not concerned with generating revenue and is keen to protect the lives of the people but whatever measures the government takes, nothing could be achieved without the cooperation of the public, he said. The Chief Minister was requested to allot more funds for the health department and had promised to accord top priority to it, he added.