COVID-19 sampling increased two-fold in the District: Mohali DC

COVID-19 sampling increased two-fold in the District: Mohali DC

Flu corners strengthened to cater to walk in testing

Harshabab Sidhu
Nabaz-e-Punjab, Mohali, September 7:
Intensifying its battle against the pandemic, Mohali District Administration has increased the Covid-19 sampling two-fold, informed Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan.
Sharing the details DC apprised that the sampling for novel corona virus which was around 350 per day has now been accelerated and about 850 to 1100 samples are being collected daily.
He said the move is aimed at early detection of corona virus in patients so that the treatment could be started well in time besides preventing others from the virus contraction.
“To match the sampling pace, the corresponding testing has also been doubled. As against the earlier 400 tests per day now on an average about 850 tests are being done,” said Dayalan.
Pointing out further, the Deputy Commissioner said that on September 4, a total of 946 samples were collected in the district that includes 669 RTPCR tests, 19 TruNat and 258 Antigen tests. Similarly, On September 5, the health teams collected 855 samples that include 554 RTPCR tests, 23 TruNat, and 278 Antigen samples.
Notably, the number of sampling teams has been raised to 26 from the earlier 20 to cover the high-risk population of people with co-morbidity, said the Deputy Commissioner.
Dayalan told that the motive behind the acceleration of the infrastructure was to keep the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) under control. He said that despite the surge in the fresh covid-19 cases the district administration has managed to maintain the current CFR rate at 1.92 percent with a large number of people having recovered in the district.
The Deputy Commissioner mentioned that the state government has introduced the novel concept of walk-in testing and direct home isolation for the suspected corvid-19 patients. He said that now anybody suspicious about his virus contraction can walk-in to any of the 9 flu corners and submit an undertaking form for direct home isolation if he/she reported positive. In such cases, patients based on their pledge would be allowed for the home isolation, and patients tracking teams would monitor their health level daily, added Dayalan. The flu corners have been strengthened with additional teams working on rotation basis, said he.
DC said that as per the government policy no home quarantine stickers would be pasted outside the covid-19 patients’ homes.
He said that the district administration was fully geared up and prepared to tackle any situation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and requisite beds in private and government hospitals have been reserved for COVID-19 patients. The deputy commissioner said the district administration would leave no stone unturned to serve people in these trying times. He also urged people to stay inside their homes and not fall prey to rumors besides following safety precautions that include wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands, and others.