UP to start pool testing of samples
LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh will become the first state in the country to conduct pool testing of samples for the coronavirus. Principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad on Monday said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had granted permission to the state health department to test several samples at a time. Pool testing would expedite the health department plan to test maximum samples daily, he said.
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh will become the first state in the country to conduct pool testing of samples for the coronavirus.
Principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad on Monday said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had granted permission to the state health department to test several samples at a time. Pool testing would expedite the health department plan to test maximum samples daily, he said.
“In pool testing, a few samples are pooled together and then tested. This helps in efficient screening. We are deciding its protocol currently. UP would be the first state to start pool testing,” said Prasad.
“For example, if 10 samples are mixed, and tested for the presence of the coronavirus, and they test negative, then it indicates that the report of all 10 persons is negative and they are infection-free. If there is infection, then individual testing is done. This process accelerates the screening. Pool testing will begin from tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.
He said the health department had set a target of testing 2,000 samples daily and on Sunday 1,980 samples were tested.
Till Sunday, 14,242 samples were tested since the outbreak and 13,692 samples were found negative.
Meanwhile, the telemedicine service announced by the health department on its helpline began on Monday.
“Tele-consultation facility from helpline no. 18001805145 has started from today (Monday). People called on this number, and consulted the doctors,” Prasad said. Voluntary consultation through telecommunication was being provided by retired government and armed forces doctors to patients, he said.
The health department has issued an order for emergency services in government and private hospitals across the state. The doctors will have to follow the protocol to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
“We have issued a detailed guidance note of the infection prevention protocol for both the private and public sectors,” he said.
“The doctors and paramedical staff discharging duties in wards and hospitals, where Covid-19 positive patients are admitted, have to follow guidelines to protect themselves from infection,” he said.
The health department will also provide training to doctors in all districts through video conference for protection from coronavirus in hospitals, he said.