Rajasthan to ramp up coronavirus testing: Minister

Jaipur, Apr 7 () Rajasthan Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma on Tuesday the state government has decided to step up screening of people through rapid testing kits in the areas hit by coronavirus infection.

The rapid testing, a kind of blood test, gives quick results in comparison to the current swab-based examination.

The minister said the 'Bhilwara model' of intensive screening will also be replicated with improvements and local requirements in the virus-hit areas.

"We have an adequate system to test the maximum number of infected people. Investigation will be started soon by rapid testing kits in the state," he said.

The state has so far reported 328 coronavirus cases with six deaths.

The government has claimed that a massive contact tracing of coronavirus positive patients and screening of people under an aggressive containment model helped the authorities check the spread of the disease in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district, one of the country's COVID-19 hotspots.

Jaipur is the worst-hit area in the state from where 103 coronavirus cases have surfaced so far. The maximum number of cases in Jaipur have been reported from the Ramganj area of Jaipur's walled city.

"The geographical conditions of Jaipur's Ramganj area are different. Population density in the walled city is high. In such a situation, quarantine with social distancing in that area is a challenge in itself," he said.

He, however, said the way teams are working in a collaborative manner, the situation will brought under control very soon.

He said the department's surveillance team has surveyed 5.37 crore people across the state.

Dr. Sharma said of the 328 positive patients till date, 32 people have been discharged from hospitals.

Even after that, these people are supervised by a Health Department team for 28 days, he added. AG RDKRDK