Daily RT-PCR tests reach 5000-mark; new cases above 790

The number of Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests conducted in a day in the district reached the 5,000-mark for the first time on Friday

The number of Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests conducted in a day in the district reached the 5,000-mark for the first time on Friday since the outbreak of the pandemic, which has till now infected 42,618 people in Gurugram. With an additional 1,503 rapid antigen tests, the overall testing also reached 6,503 — the highest ever in a single day so far. For the second consecutive day, more than 6,000 tests were administered in the district.

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With the increased testing, the district recorded a maximum jump in new infections after almost a week. On Friday, 793 new cases were recorded — highest spike after November 13, when at least 797 new cases were reported. The decline in testing from November 14 due to Diwali led daily new cases to fluctuate between 500 and 660 in the last one week, due to which the weekly positivity rate (November 13 to 20) slightly declined to almost 16% from previous week’s 18%.

Epidemiologically, increased testing should continue till the positivity comes down to five percent. Lower positivity means the transmission of the virus is controlled. RT-PCR, the gold frontline test for Covid-19, has increased by almost 50% in the last two months to control the transmission. The district health bulletin shows that until September 20, the health department and private labs together were administering almost 2,200 RT-PCR tests. Almost same number of RT-PCR were conducted till October 21. It increased to 2,500 and further to 3,000 on November 2.

In the last two days, a sudden increase in rapid antigen tests to over 1,500 also led to the overall hike in testing numbers. The district health department had received 10,000 antigen kits on November 19. Following which mass testing camps were held in Khandsa, Kherki Dhaula and other market areas to test people. Due to shortage of kits, department did less than 14% antigen tests.

Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, said, “Samples are being given to different private labs, who have signed MoU to conduct RT-PCR in ₹900. Considering the capacity of RT-PCR in private labs, nearly 16,000 tests can be conducted.”

The hospitalisation also increased to 443 on Friday from 426 on November 19. According to the district health bulletin, out of the 5,485 active cases, at least 5,110 are in home isolation and seven in district Covid care centres. The Covid-19 toll also climbed to 256, with three new deaths reported on Friday. It includes 199 deaths due to co-morbidities and 57 without co-morbidity.