Coronavirus: Delhi govt orders 5 lakh rapid antigen kits to ramp up testing as Covid-19 cases spike

The notice issued by the Directorate General of Health Services has asked vendors of the testing kits to supply 5 lakh antigen testing kits to the Delhi government on an emergency basis.

In a bid to ramp up its Coronavirus testing capacity, the Delhi government is in the process of procuring 5 lakh Coronavirus rapid antigen testing kits on an emergency basis. The notice issued by the Directorate General of Health Services has asked vendors of the testing kits to supply 5 lakh antigen testing kits to the Delhi government on an emergency basis. The move is aimed at boosting the diagnosis of the disease among the population and isolating the confirmed patients to control the disease from spreading in the city, which has suddenly registered an increase in cases in the past few days, according to an Indian Express report.

While the rise has sparked fears of the second wave of Covid-19 in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the increase in the number of cases was on account of ramped up testing. He also assured the residents of Delhi that the situation was completely under control and the health authorities had also started random testing of people at bus stops, markets and other public places. Kejriwal further said that he had consulted several public experts regarding the spike in Delhi Covid-19 cases and after careful analysis of data and the preparations of the government, he was sure there was no reason to worry.

Kejriwal also highlighted that the death rate in the city, despite recording a surge in the number of cases, has remained below the national average. Quoting the data between August 15 and September 4, the CM said that the death rate in the city was 1.4 per cent, while that in the country remained 1.7 percent. Attributing the rise in Covid-19 cases to increased testing, Kejriwal highlighted that even when the city is recording a large number of cases, the positivity rate has remained lower than what the city was recording in the previous surge in the month of June. On Saturday, a total of 38,895 tests were conducted out of which 2,973 turned out to be positive, which gives the positivity rate of around 7.64 per cent. On the other hand, when the city had recorded 2,948 cases on June 27, the positivity rate was very steep at 15.37 per cent.

Pointing out that over 1,600-1,700 beds have been occupied from the residents of other states in Delhi hospitals, the CM assured that there is no shortage of Covid-19 beds in the city. He further said that out of a total of 14,163 Covid-19 beds in the city, only 4,985 have so far been occupied, including those which have been occupied by the residents from out of Delhi. To further assuage the concerns, he added that the government is open to increasing the number of beds as well if the need be.