4,000 daily test drive starts in Noida, Gzb

Noida/Ghaziabad: The health departments of Noida and Ghaziabad on Thursday started a 10-day-long drive to test nearly 4,000 samples daily. On the first day, 3,638 tests were conducted in Noida while Ghaziabad collected 1,765 samples.
Health officials in Noida conducted 2,037 rapid antigen tests, 1,591 using the RT-PCR method and 10 with TrueNat. Of these, the antigen tests resulted in 54 positive cases. The results of the other tests are awaited. In Ghaziabad, 34 people were found to have Covid after their samples were tested using the rapid antigen method. Of the 1,765 tests that were conducted in Ghaziabad, 775 were done using antigen kits.
The UP government has given the two districts a target of conducting 4,000 tests a day for the next 10 days. This is supposed to include 3,000 antigen and 1,000 RT-PCR tests.
On Thursday, additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi said all six districts under the Meerut division were high-priority areas and had been given 50,000 testing kits in total. Apart from the enhanced testing drive, the state government has also decided to boost surveillance of Covid contacts in the region. As many as 2,029 teams have been deployed in Ghaziabad and 1,200 in Noida to conduct door-to-door surveys.
To expedite results, the government is focusing on Covid tests using the rapid antigen method. The health departments of both districts have been given 11,000 additional kits. A week ago, 8,000 such kits had been given.
“For tomorrow, I have asked officials to increase focus on antigen tests, especially in containment zones. The teams have been given a list of containment areas and the number of cases in each of them,” said Suhas LY, the Noida DM.
On Thursday, a team of nodal officer Narendra Bhooshan, the DM and police commission Alok Singh conducted an inspection of JJ Colony, which has reported more than 80 cases so far.
Officials in Noida said they had planned to cover every household over the next few days and paste stickers outside those that have already been covered — an exercise akin to a census survey.
In Ghaziabad, testing has been affected somewhat as the TrueNat machine has been defunct for around a week now. The machine is expected to be replaced soon.
Altogether, 135 help desks have been set up in the district, where health workers are screening people with oximeters and infrared thermometers. But at a time the government has increased focus on testing, there is only one microbiologist who has the responsibility of packing so many samples and sending them for examination.
Meanwhile, the UP government has approved an RT-PCR lab for Ghaziabad. Sources said the health department was planning to set up this lab at the District Combined Hospital in Sanjay Nagar.
“After the machine arrives, it will take about 20 days to start the lab. At present, samples are being sent to Noida or Meerut for Covid tests. Once this lab becomes operational, 500-600 tests can be done here daily,” chief medical officer Dr NK Gupta said.
The CMO said a proposal had been sent to the government to set up a 620-bed Covid facility at Rama Medical College in Pilkhuwa.
Special booths
To augment sample collection in Ghaziabad, the health department on Thursday installed three new testing centres resembling phone booths. The testing booths were set up in Gyan Khand 4 of Indirapuram, Vaishali Sector 1 and MMG District Hospital.
Officials said the reason behind setting up the booths in Indirapuram and Vaishali was that these areas have reported around 30 and 20 positive cases, respectively, on a daily basis for some time.