Gurugram collects record 25,000 samples in a day for Covid-19 tests
Long queues of people were witnessed outside several testing centres and camps on Saturday, as the Gurugram district administered a record number of 25,000 Covid-19 tests – the highest ever in a single day.
The voluminous sampling size contributed 25 percent to the overall tests (more than one lakh) conducted in Haryana in 24 hours. It exceeded the target of more than 10,000 samples set by the district health department in observance of the sampling day.
In Gurugram, at least 25,101 samples were collected on Saturday, more than double the previous highest number of tests (10,200) administered on November 21. Of these, 20,112 were through gold front-line Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) method and only 4,989 were rapid antigen — 19.8 percent of total tests. Both the test numbers were highest so far. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Gurugram health department has conducted a total of 505,314 tests so far.
On Saturday,the sample collection started from six in the morning at wholesale food grain and vegetable market in Khandsa. At Sadar Bazar, sample collection started around 10am, when locals from nearby areas, shopkeepers and customers started pouring in to get themselves tested. Teams from NGOs were deployed to manage the crowd who queued up for testing. Testing announcements were being made at timely intervals. Likewise, at a testing centre near sector 15, long queue was seen on the road.
As many as 50 testing camps were held on Saturday.
Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, said, “Nobody was forced to get tested. People are now aware of the disease and are voluntarily choosing to get tested without inhibitions.” The total count of Covid-19 infections in Gurugram reached 48,619 on Saturday, with 668 new cases being reported. The test results of 15,287 samples are awaited.
Record testing at state level
Even at the state level, Haryana’s 22 districts together collected a record number of 12,1227 samples, much higher than the set target of more than 50,000 in a day. It included highest sample collection in Gurugram, followed by Faridabad (10,459), Rohtak (10,311) and Rewari (9000). On an average 30,000 tests were being conducted across the state daily.
On November 25, the state health department had set a target to administer over 80 percent RT-PCR tests to detect new cases and their timely isolation. This, officials believed, will help in lowering the positivity rate as Haryana is consistently among the ten worst-affected Covid-19 states in the country. Five districts – Gurugram, Rewari, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonepat — are reporting maximum cases every day. Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary, health department complimented the districts for the record testing through a tweet.
The state chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was also in Gurugram on Saturday, also emphasized on respiratory hygiene and mask discipline to be followed by people to help check the spread of the viral infection.
