GHAZIABAD: The district administration has decided to continue with the special drive to test high-risk groups, such as auto drivers and mall workers, for Covid-19 through this month.
Figures sourced from the administration revealed that 18,091 people from nine highly vulnerable groups, such as auto drivers, healthcare workers, street vendors, employees of malls, sweet shops, salons, restaurants and religious clerics, among others, have already been tested during the drive, which started on October 29.
Of them, 13,291 people were tested through the antigen method and 4,800 with RT-PCR kits. While the overall positivity rate is between 1-1.5%, the figure for antigen tests is 0.3%. In other words, only 48 out 13,291 people screened through antigen kits tested positive. The reports of RT-PCR tests are still being compiled.
Officials said that only one of the groups was selected for sampling on each day. Till Wednesday,
Covid samplings were done at 100 spots in total. Testing of several groups was also done twice during this period. The government had set the target of conducting at least 1,350 samples, including 1,000 antigen, from each group daily.
District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said, “We have decided to continue with this exercise through this month. After this, we will take a call on whether to continue with this or not. People from these groups come in contact with scores of others on a daily basis and pose a chance to contract the infection. It is good that not many people have been found to be infected.”
Anticipating a surge in Covid
cases due to the festive season, the state health department had directed districts to conduct testing of people from the highly vulnerable groups between October 29 and November 12.