At 650k, India closes in on 1mn daily tests target
COVID CRISIS Positivity rate declines as strategy to test, trace, treat is scaled up
nNEW DELHI: There were close to 650,000 tests for Covid-19 across India on Thursday and the average number of daily tests in the last week of July is more than twice of what it was in beginning of the month, according to government data and an analysis by HT, suggesting the country was on track to reach the milliontests-a-day threshold.
As on Friday, India has had 1.69 million cases of the coronavirus disease that has led to 36,549 deaths, making it the third hardest-hit nation after the United States and Brazil, where 155,000 and 91,000 fatalities have respectively taken place.
India has till now carried out close to 19 million tests but will need to ramp up this process further in order to better detect and head off new outbreaks. India’s per million tests as on July 30 comes to about 14,129, a number that has improved from 6,794 on July 1 but is still among the lowest in the world since it has the world’s second-largest population.
The roughly 19 million tests is equivalent to 1.5% of the population.
Ramping up testing was among the issues discussed by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday during the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GOM) on Covid-19. “The
Each of the three ways that Covid-19 infections can be detected has distinct uses
RT-PCR TESTS
The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is the goldstandard when it comes to Covid-19 testing. It is used for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-COV-2 in swabs taken from suspected patients and detects the genetic signature of the virus. A process done in labs, it can take up to 4-5 hours.
Ideal use scenario:
Although there are rare instances where this can give out false negative and false positives, it is the most definitive test currently available that detects SARS-COV-2 and should be used as often as possible.
ANTIGEN TESTING (RAPID TESTS)
Antigens are substances in our bodies that stimulate an immune response (proteins, polysaccharides, lipids or nucleic acids). Each antigen has distinct surface features that antigen test kits are designed to detect. These usually provide results within 30 minutes.
Ideal use scenario:
Since these tests can possibly lead to false negatives, several cases can slide under the radar. But, it can be used in small areas of hot spots to test every resident and quickly isolate as many patients as possible.
DEATHS
SERO-SURVEILLANCE (ANTIBODY TESTS)
Serological tests look for antibodies (proteins that can fight off infections) in blood that would indicate a previous infection. People who show antibodies are also likely to be immune in the short-term. Identifying prevalence enables officials to determine how widely the disease has spread.
Ideal use scenario:
Sero surveillance tests can’t be used to diagnose infections. These can only be used to get an idea of prevalence, which can guide control measures, such as lockdowns and social distancing in the area.
DEATHS
July 31