Thane civic corporation to get 1 lakh rapid testing kits

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) will in the next two days acquire over one lakh rapid antigen testing kits to be used for mass screening of residents in red

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) will in the next two days acquire over one lakh rapid antigen testing kits to be used for mass screening of residents in red zones, civic commissioner Vipin Sharma said on Monday.

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RT Kendre, officer on special duty for Covid-19, said, “Currently, we conduct 800 to 900 tests on a daily basis, of which 250 to 300 people test positive. Till Saturday, we had tested over 41,000 people in the city. We will now have to increase the testing capacity for which the kits will be required. The kit gives results in 30 minutes and can be used for mass screening.”

He said that if a person tests positive, he will not be retested, however, in case of a negative result, the test will be re-conducted in a week.

“The tests are not completely accurate, however, they will help screen the patients. We will use them in areas which have a high density of positive cases. People will be screened using the kits, so we can identify and quarantine those who are positive at the earliest. Even if the person in red zone does not show symptoms, he will be tested,” Kendre said.