Mass sampling, target testing no solution, says expert
Dist administration , railway appeal people to avoid long distance travel and maintain social distancing to avoid infection
LUCKNOW: The district administration and railways have made mass sampling and target testing arrangements at railway stations to keep a check on infected train passengers, but experts say this is no fool proof solution.
They have also appealed to people to avoid long distance travel and maintain social distancing to avoid infection.
“Mass sampling or target testing of train passengers is no fool proof solution to keep a check on the spread of Covid-19 in the city or in any part of the country. It is not possible to carry out RTPCR and antigen test of all the train passengers arriving at the railway stations and you cannot on pick and choose. Hence I believe it is certainly not the solution to the problem,” said Dr Narayan Prasad, head of the department of nephrology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI).
Dr Prasad said that there were times when antigen test failed to detect the infection. “And this largely happens when the person has been recently infected. The person may not develop symptoms but will still act as a carrier,” he added.
He said the only way to break the chain of the virus was to stay indoors and strictly avoid long distance travel. “This is the only way out,” he added.
The district administration in collaboration with railways had made elaborate anti-Covid arrangements at railway stations in the state capital.
The anti-Covid arrangements are a part of the exercise which the district administration had launched early in March to keep a check on passengers arriving from states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Pune, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.
Under the drive, the district administration had set up a camp at Charbagh Railway Station and Lucknow Junction.
As per the records with the Northern Railways (NR), the custodian of Charbagh railway station, in the past 10 days the station witnessed footfall of around 25,000 passengers. Of the total, 3,539 people were from Maharashtra, 2,163 from Gujarat, 17,961 from Delhi and 1,874 from Punjab.
NR officials said that of the total, 14,409 train passengers were tested (antigen tests were carried out on 7101 and RTPCR on 7308), of which 65 passengers tested positive.
A similar exercise was carried out on the Lucknow Junction that too witnessed the movement of more than 20,000 train passengers who arrived from states where Covid-19 cases are on the rise. However, the report of the passengers who tested positive was not available with the station authorities.
Dr MK Singh, in-charge of vaccination and testing in Lucknow said, “Efforts are being made to contain the virus. We are carrying out target testing and mass sampling at all entry and exit points of the city and also at different locations. People are requested to avoid moving out and get themselves vaccinated to help the system fight the virus.”