E-Paper
Ghaziabad: Senior citizens least tested group despite being most vulnerable
Even though they are recognised as a high-risk group, those above the age of 60 had been tested the least for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)in Ghaziabad district
Even though they are recognised as a high-risk group, those above the age of 60 had been tested the least for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)in Ghaziabad district till date, according to district health data. They also showed the highest test positivity among the age groups.
According to the records maintained by the district health department, out of the total 78, 659 samples sent for testing till July 24 afternoon, the share of elderly (60+) tested was 5.37 %. Out of the total 4,277 senior citizens tested so far, at least 428 have tested positive-- a positivity rate of 10.13%.
According to the data, those between the age group of 21-40 years have been tested the most at 55.58% (43,717 samples); with a total of 2,068 cases, the TPR—– the proportion of people testing positive to those tested expressed in percentage – for this age group stands at 4.73%. The second most tested people are those in the 41-60 years age group; out of 17,988 tested (22.87 % of total tests), 1,415 have tested positive with a TPR of 7.87%. They are followed by those between 11-20 years of age: out of the total 8,174 tested (10.39% of total tests), 366 have tested positive (TPR 4.48%). Children have the lowest TPR of 3.76; 4,553 (5.79 % of total tests) in the age group of 0-10 years have been tested, out of which 171 have turned positive.
The district administration said it plans to ramp testing for senior citizens during the door-to-door surveillance exercise that will start from Saturday on the orders of the chief minister.
“Other age groups have been tested more as younger people generally move around more when compared to the elderly who prefer to be at home and follow social distancing. The chief minister on Friday has asked for door-to-door survey activities to be taken up in seven cities, including Ghaziabad, and we have directed our surveillance teams to trace cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and test more senior citizens,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.
Experts said that with more testing for senior citizens shall also see a decline in positivity rate.
“The senior citizens have been tested the least and only in cases where a family member had positive or they have come in contact with an infected person. The test positivity rate is high as only selected cases were being tested. Once testing expands, the positivity will decline like in other age groups,” said DR VB Jindal, president (Ghaziabad chapter), Indian Medical Association.
Residents also want more senior citizens to be tested. “Since the outbreak of Covid-19, senior citizens have been considered as a high-risk group and the majority of them are confined to homes and are taking precautions. As many among the elderly choose to be at home, maybe that is why there were tested less. If the health department deploys some mobile testing vans, we can expect more senior citizens to be tested,” said VK Mittal, president of Kaushambi apartments’ resident’s welfare association.
Of the total tests, rapid antigen kits were used to test about 41,859 samples, while the share of tests done through RT-PCR testing (real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) is about 35, 243. The rest, 1,557 tests were conducted through TrueNat machines.
“For the first four months, till June 24 we could conduct only about 600,000 tests. However, in the next one month (till July 24), 1.1 million more tests were done and the increase in testing is helping us out in early detection of case and subsequent early treatment,” said Amit Mohan Prasad, UP’s additional chief secretary (health).
Meanwhile, the chief minister has directed for 100,000 daily tests in the state.
“The CM has directed that districts with a population over 3 million will conduct 2,000 rapid tests per day while others will take up 1,000 rapid tests per day. The CM has also directed for door-to-door survey in seven districts like Kanpur city, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, and Ballia among others,” said Awanish Awasthi, UP’s additional chief secretary (home).
