Centre asks states to increase coronavirus testing in strategic manner

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Centre asks states to increase coronavirus testing in strategic manner (Image: Pixabay)
Centre asks states to increase coronavirus testing in strategic manner (Image: Pixabay)

New Delhi : A week after Centre asked asymptomatic patients to avoid testing for coronavirus; it has asked states to ramp up COVID testing.

Marking how testing in many states and Union Territories has fallen drastically, the Centre asked them to step up testing to keep an effective track of the pandemic can be kept and take proper action.

In a letter to states and union territories, Additional Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Arti Ahuja has advised them to pay attention to this aspect immediately and increase the testing in a strategic manner keeping in view the trend of case positivity in specific areas.

She noted that Omicron variant of coronavirus, which has been marked as variant of concern by WHO, has been spreading in the nation.

"However, it is seen from the data available on the ICMR portal that testing has declined in many states and union territories," she wrote.

She emphasized that to overcome the pandemic we have to detect early and isolate the patients to stop spread of coronavirus.

"Progression of disease to a severe category can be averted by strategic testing of those who are at high risk and more vulnerable, as well as in areas where the spread is likely to be higher," Ms Ahuja said.

Reissuing the guidelines, she said, symptomatic patients must be tested and their at-risk contacts should not be tested until symptoms arise.

India has so far recorded 3.76 crore coronavirus cases and 4.86 lakh deaths due to it. On Tuesday, the country registered 2.38 lakh new infections with a positivity rate of 14.43 per cent.