India has ramped up testing since the lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended to May 3.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 9,02,654 samples have been tested as of 9 am of May 1. No further data was provided. As per ICMR's bulletins, around 72,453 samples were tested in 24 hours, from 9 am on April 30 to 9 am on May 1.
Here are the state-wise numbers as of 9 am on May 1:
— Andhra Pradesh has tested 94,558 samples out of which 93,155 were negative. As on May 1, the state has a total of 1,403 cases, with 321 recoveries and 31 deaths.
— Kerala has tested 25,973 samples so far and of these, 25,135 have returned negative. The state currently has 497 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 383 recoveries and 4 deaths.
— Tamil Nadu has tested 1,19,748 samples so far, with 2,323 people testing positive. 1,15,761 samples were tested negative and results of 1,664 samples are awaited. 1,258 people have recovered and 27 people have died due to the disease.
—Telangana had been providing sample numbers till April 30. However, the updated numbers since then are not known. A total of 1,038 people have tested positive so far, with 442 recoveries. The state has recorded 28 deaths so far.
— Karnataka has tested 60,156 samples, with 565 people testing positive and 57,548 samples returning negative. The state has recorded 21 COVID-19 deaths, while 229 persons have recovered.
— Maharashtra has tested 1,45,798 laboratory samples on April 30, out of which 1,34,244 were negative and 10,498 have been tested positive. 459 people have died from the disease in the state, while 1,773 have recovered.
Public health experts have called for wider testing to check for community transmission of COVID-19. The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) testing strategy has now been expanded and all symptomatic patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) - those with fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose - need to be tested in hotspots/clusters (identified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) and in large migration gatherings/ evacuees centres. Symptomatic ILI patients will have to be tested within seven days of presenting with the illness.
Earlier, the guidelines limited testing to those who have international travel history and are symptomatic; those who have contact history with a confirmed COVID-19 case and have symptoms of the virus; healthcare workers who are symptomatic; patients hospitalised with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI); and a direct or high-risk contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case who can be symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Presently, only the RT-PCR or the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, ICMR has allowed places that are hotspots (high number of cases) to test residents using the rapid antibody kits, which can deliver results within 30-45 minutes as opposed to 24 hours that an RT-PCR test. However, a positive result by the rapid antibody test will have to be further tested by the RT-PCR test to confirm for the novel coronavirus. ICMR advises those with a negative result by the rapid antibody test to be home quarantined.
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