Chandigarh: Daily testing drops from 4,000 in May to 1,600, lower than national average

CHANDIGARH; The city is lagging behind with1,126 Covid-19 tests per million per day as compared to the national average of 1,397, a poor way to plan for managing the next surge of infections, according to public health experts.
“Test samples are mainly from hospitals. At railway station, airport and bus stands, the testing has almost disappeared,” said an official in the UT health department. The weekly positivity rate, however, has dipped to 0.8%, while the national average is 2.3.
Testing, treatment and tracing have been the keywords in the management of Covid. “If the infection reduces, the number of contacts also decreases. But one must focus on testing in congested areas like colonies and slums, and public places like bus stands and railway station,” said a public health expert.

The testing in Chandigarh is less than in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The highest tests per million per day tests are in Mizoram with 4,277.
The city used to conduct over 4,000 tests per day during May. This had decreased to 2,000 tests a day in June and they are now fluctuating between 1,300 to 1,600 daily.
Experts suggest with the Delta variant strains, there is a need to adhere to Covid norms. “It will take some more time for the virus to again spread its tentacles if we do not follow Covid- appropriate behaviour and monitor by testing many samples daily.” Experts said it is the right time to conduct testing door-to-door in high-risk areas.
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Given the looming threat from new more infectious Covid variants, the authorities cannot afford to let their guard down. It also implies the need for undertaking testing consistently. People shrugging off Covid appropriate behaviour again and the ‘R’ factor rising are all warning signs. If Covid control measures are not followed strictly, the city may be seeing a spike in cases sooner than expected.