COIMBATORE: The rise in the Covid-19 test positivity rate (TPR) in the district has forced health department to do away with the protocol for pooled testing of samples.
The pooled testing algorithm involves putting together samples of multiple individuals (not more than five) in a tube and screening them through a RT-PCR test. For instance, samples of 1,000 individuals could be tested in 200 pools. This reduces the time taken for declaring results.
Speaking to TNIE, Deputy Director of Health Services (DDHS) P Aruna said the pooled testing algorithm may not fetch accurate results if the TPR is growing and so the method has been dropped. “We have done away with the protocol of pooled testing of samples. The results may not be accurate if the test positivity rate is increasing constantly. Instead, the samples are now tested batch-wise.” There will not be a delay in getting the results, she said. Aruna said they would ensure there is no delay in declaring test results. The test results are obtained within 1.5 days in Coimbatore.
Further, the State public health department instructed government testing labs not to divert samples to private facilities even if there is a backlog. Aruna said the department is looking to increasing the number of technicians in the laboratories in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and ESI Hospital labs as there is a need to test samples round the clock to avoid delay in declaring results.