India has ramped up testing since the 21-day lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended to May 3.
According to ICMR’s 9 pm bulletin on April 10, a total 3,72,123 samples from 3,54,969 individuals have been tested. 16,365 individuals have been confirmed positive till date.
On April 18, till 9 pm, 35,494 samples were reported. Of these, 2,154 were found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2
Here are the state-wise numbers as of 10 am on April 19:
— Andhra Pradesh has tested 21,450 samples. The state has 603 positive cases, 16 COVID-19 deaths, and 42 persons who have recovered.
— Kerala has tested 18,774 samples so far and of these, 17,763 have returned negative. The state currently has 399 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 218 recoveries and 2 deaths.
— Tamil Nadu has tested 35,036 samples so far, with 1,372 people testing positive. 27,192 samples have returned negative while 1,433 are under process. The state has recorded 15 COVID-19 deaths, while 365 people have recovered.
— Telangana has not provided numbers of samples tested. The state has 809 positive cases, 18 COVID-19 deaths and 186 persons who have recovered.
— Karnataka has collected 15,444 samples, with 279 people testing positive. The state has recorded 12 COVID-19 deaths, while 80 persons have recovered.
— Maharashtra has tested 67,468 samples, with 63,476 negative and 3,648 samples testing positive till date. The state has recorded 211 COVID-19 deaths, while 365 people 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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