UP achieves milestone of five crore Covid-19 tests

Lucknow, 03 June  (HS) :      Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday achieved yet another benchmark of testing as many as five crore samples for novel coronavirus infection. Testing an average three lakh samples daily, Uttar Pradesh became the first state in the country to cross the milestone.

Intensifying preventive measures to control the spread of Covid-19 as per the target of ‘Trace, Test and Treat’, the Yogi-led state conducted a total of 3,31,511 tests in the last 24 hours, out of which nearly 1500 samples tested positive.

According to a spokesperson of the state government Uttar Pradesh has come a long way from getting the first Covid test conducted from the lab at National Institute of Virology, Pune in 2020 to over 5 crore tests today. More than 3 lakh tests conducted in the last 24 hours testifies the enlarged testing capacity in the state.

Despite being the most populous state in the country, Uttar Pradesh has outperformed all other states including Delhi, Maharashtra and Rajasthan by conducting a total of 1.50 lakh RT-PCR tests on an average daily, the spokesperson said.

With thorough functioning of both Government and Private Laboratories, the state has ramped up its Covid Testing Capacity from 1 lakh RT PCR tests per day to 1.5 lakh or more RT PCR tests per day in just 40 days.

He said that the testing is the backbone for curbing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 as it helps early detection of cases and their isolation and contact tracing. A widely deployed and efficient testing strategy in Uttar Pradesh has helped in limiting the spread of new cases as it significantly reduced the chance of individuals with undetected virus exposure from roaming freely among unexposed individuals.

Surveillance Committees curbing Covid Spread in Rural pockets

The spokesperson said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has constantly emphasised on the importance of aggressive testing according to which the state has been following the ‘Trace, Test and Treat’ mantra and is reaching the last mile to break the Covid Chain. The government is getting more than one lakh tests through 8,000 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) done in the rural areas of the state everyday.

The state government even further initiated world’s largest house-to-house surveillance of COVID-19 in rural areas to contain transmission by testing people with symptoms for rapid isolation, disease management and contact tracing.

More than 73000 Surveillance Committees constituted by the Yogi government are moving across 97,941 villages in all 75 districts for this activity, which began on 5 May, and has been extended to cover 100 percent rural households.

The 70 percent of tests since the second wave surge of Covid-19 cases in the state have solely been conducted in the rural regions. More than 61 lakh tests had been conducted in the month of April, out of which about 63 percent were in rural areas while in the month of May, out of ocer 85 lakh tests, the rural areas accounted for about 70 perecent of tests.

In addition, to spread awareness regarding the importance of early detection and early treatment, the surveillance committees have also been visiting houses in rural areas to educate the rural population and have been repeatedly appealing to not hide the symptoms and rather get themselves tested.

 The state’s rural-control strategies, as well as both community-based and individual case-based control measures, so  far have been overall effective in identifying and treating patients, he said.