The Department of Microbiology at K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College on Tuesday completed testing 1.5 lakh COVID-19 samples, an achievement officials attributed to team effort.
The lab in Tiruchi received approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, and began testing for COVID-19 on March 24. The milestone of one lakh tests was reached on August 25.
The two-lakh mark would be reached in 20 days time, said K. Lakshmi, Head-In Charge of Department of Microbiology.
Though technicians at the lab had the technical know-how to conduct Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR tests) earlier, they faced capacity constraints as only 100 tests could be conducted in a day with one RT-PCR machine. “RNA extraction was done manually until the district administration provided an RNA extractor and another RT-PCR machine,” Dr. Lakshmi said.
As the number of COVID-19 cases went up, the number of samples being processed increased. From July onwards, at least 1,800 to 2,000 samples were processed per day, said Dr. Lakshmi.
Initially, at least 5,000 samples were from other districts, including Perambalur, Karur, Ariyalur, and the remaining samples were all lifted in Tiruchi. “Nowadays, the samples come from fever camps conducted in the district, and patients approaching Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital to get tested voluntarily. As all other districts have also been equipped with testing facilities, our burden has reduced significantly,” she said.
As on Wednesday, they had tested 1,54,000 samples in total.
Since September, Tiruchi district’s COVID prevalence rate had dropped, she said, adding that the current rate was around 5%. “This time around, we are well-equipped and prepared. We have a team of well-trained technicians, a new set of postgraduate students and we have the advantage of six months of experience.”
With the State slowly relaxing lockdown restrictions, everyone was preparing for ‘the new normal’, but the challenge in reducing incidences of positive cases remains. “When public transport opened up, we feared a significant spike, but we are safe compared to other districts,” she said.
Dr. Lakshmi urged the public to continue to wear facemasks as they venture outdoors. “Research shows that wearing of a facemask, even a regular cotton cloth, will cut down the risk of contracting the infection by half. We need to work together.”