State crosses 2-lakh test count, halfconductedinlastfortnight
Got third highest number of tests done among all states in last 2 weeks, claims health dept
CHANDIGARH : Punjab has completed 2 lakh Covid-19 tests of which half were conducted in the last fortnight, in what is being seen as an outcome of the state health department’s efforts at having ramped up the testing capacity to detect infections, particularly cases of community transmission.
On Wednesday (June 17), the state’s tally of total tests done was 2,08,408 against the June 3 figure of 1, 01,036 as the state’s daily has gone up significantly.
Nearly 10,000 tests have been conducted daily in the past few days as compared to 4,000-4,500 a day in the first week of the month.
SURPASSES HARYANA
Punjab on Thursday surpassed Haryana in total number of tests done, with the neighouring state’s tally reaching 1,97,703 on Wednesday.
On June 3, Haryana with a total of 1,26,222 tests was far ahead of Punjab which had conducted 1,01,036 tests by then. As per claims by health department officials, after Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Punjab was the only state to have conducted more than 1 lakh tests in the last 15 days.
The health officials claim that while testing in most states decreased with the surge in cases, Punjab kept increasing its capacity. “Testing in the worst-hit states like Delhi and Gujarat has decreased whereas we have increased the same,” said a senior health official.
State Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said Punjab’s testing per million increased to 6,867 on Wednesday (June 17) while the number was
State’s tally of total tests done on June 3