The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asked Delhi to start rapid antigen detection test along with the usual RT-PCR tests, and the Delhi government on Monday directed the district magistrates (DMs) of each of the city’s 11 districts and chief district medical officers (CDMOs) to send at least 1,000 samples every day.
Both are measures aimed at massively scaling up testing for coronavirus disease (Covid-19), doubling it in two days and tripling it in the next six days as was promised by Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday.
Shah’s comments came after his meeting with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday; hours after his comments, the Delhi government issued an order, asking all testing laboratories “to scale up lab testing immediately” and release results not later than 48 hours since collection of the samples.
According to the Delhi government’s recent submission in the Delhi high court, the combined daily testing capacity of 40 labs, 17 public and 23 private, is 8,600 per day.
However, ICMR chief Balram Bhargava’s communication dated June 14 to the government states that these labs have a capacity to test 18,000 samples per day, which indicates that the Capital’s labs are being underutilised.
The government is targeting 18,000 tests a day by June 20,.
{{/usCountry}}The government is targeting 18,000 tests a day by June 20,.
{{/usCountry}}This will further increase the Capital’s current testing rate of 14,390 tests per million.
In containment zones and hospitals, the Delhi government will be devising a plan to start using the antigen tests.
Rapid antigen detection tests are quicker (maximum 30 minutes compared to 2-5 hours for RT-PCR tests) but are non-confirmatory tests. This means that those who test positive through rapid antigen detection tests are considered “truly positive” for Covid and do not have to undertake an RT-PCR test. But, those who test negative must go for an RT-PCR test for re-confirmation.
“The plan to start testing at every polling booth in containment zones will essentially be through these tests. The rapid antigen detection test is nothing but an elimination method. It will help us narrow down on a smaller size of people who actually need the RT-PCR test ” said an official from the state health department who asked not to be named.
The government has also directed its hospitals and Covid Testing Centres to increase the number of samples collected and has created linkages for each district with four laboratories for processing the samples. A total of 27 testing labs, both government and private, have been linked with Delhi’s 11 districts. Sunday’s order made it clear that labs can test as many samples as they want provided the results are released within a maximum of 48 hours. It also asked “all labs (both in private and public sector) to work on their full potential and also further ramp up their testing capacity on priority to meet the increased demand of processing”.
“We have a capacity to accept about 100 government samples, but we have been asked to take in about 300. How can we do that. We do not have the machines or the staff. I had to ask my staff to stay back to ensure that all the samples are process; but this can be done only for one or two days,” said the owner of one of the private labs in the city. The reports of all Covid-19 test samples have to be given within 48 hours as per the mandate of the Delhi High Court.
Covid-19 testing in Delhi fell to 4,900 a day on average during the last one week owing to some of the laboratories being shut down for not following ICMR guidelines. The week before 5,590 samples were being tested each day, as per Delhi government data.
“The central government is extending to us the facilities of the testing labs that are under its jurisdiction. Delhi has been the only state to conduct maximum tests across the country, and it will continue to do so in the future with the support of the central government,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain in a video address on Monday.
This comes just a day after the government resumed sending its samples to be tested at the centre-run National Centre for Disease Control. The government had stopped sending samples to the laboratory as several of the test reports were pending.
“Large number of samples were reported pending at NCDC labs. To allow optimum time to the labs to clear the backlog, it was decided that no samples will be sent to the said labs till the pending samples are processed and reported. With no Delhi government samples pending with the said labs, it has been decided to allow submission of samples by various districts, Delhi government, and municipal hospitals with immediate effect,” the Sunday order read.