Over 32 lakh samples tested so far: Data from south states, Maharashtra

India has doubled down on its testing since the lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended to May 31.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 32,42,160 samples had been tested as of 9 am on May 27. As per ICMR's bulletin, 1,16,041 samples were tested in 24 hours, from 9 am on May 26 to 9 am on May 27.

Here are the state-wise numbers as of 10 am on May 27:

> Andhra Pradesh has tested 3,22,714 samples out of which 3,19,731 were negative. As on May 26, the state has a total of 2,983 cases, with 2009 recoveries and 57 deaths.

> Kerala has tested 56,704 samples so far and of these, 54,836 have returned negative. The state currently has 964 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 532 recoveries and 5 deaths.

> Tamil Nadu has tested 4,31,739 samples so far, with 17,728 people testing positive. 4,13,455 samples tested negative and results of 556 samples are awaited. A total of 9,342 patients have recovered and 127 patients 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 1,991 people have tested positive so far, with 1,284 recoveries. The state has recorded 57 deaths so far.

> Karnataka has tested 2,28,914 samples, with 2,283 people testing positive and 2,23,477 samples returning negative. The state has recorded 44 COVID-19 deaths, while 748 persons have recovered.

> Maharashtra has tested 3,90,170 samples, out of which 54,758 have tested positive. 1,772 people have died from the disease in the state, while 16,954 have recovered.

On May 18, the ICMR revised its strategy for COVID-19 testing. As per the new guideline, those with a history of international travel in the past 14 days, who show Influenza-like Illness (ILI) symptoms — acute respiratory infection with fever more than 38ºC coupled with cough — will be tested.

Considering that migrant workers and expatriates are returning to their native states, all returnees and migrants, who exhibit symptoms, will be tested within seven days of developing an illness.

Additionally, all asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case will be tested once between day 5 and 10 of coming into contact with a COVID-19 patient, unlike previously between day 5 and 14.

The other patients that will be tested include:

* Symptomatic contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases
* Symptomatic health care workers or frontline workers involved in containment and mitigation of the disease
* Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) patients
* Symptomatic individuals within hotspots and containment zones
* Hospitalised patients who develop symptoms

The ICMR has recommended that all testing be done only with real-time RT-PCR or the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test. This test can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

For The News Minute's live tracker map, click the 'Coronavirus Live' icon found on the top right corner of every page.