HYDERABAD: In spite of the Centre directing all states to focus on ramping up testing for Covid, there has not been any substantial increase in Telangana.
The operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy in the context of Covid-19 issued by the Union health ministry in June call for early detection, isolation, testing, and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases.
Even to carry out genome sequencing, a high number of samples are needed in order to detect new variants.
On December 20, when the Centre issued a nationwide alert over the surge in China, South Korea, Japan, USA and Brazil, 4,654 tests were conducted in Telangana. Since then, the number has remained in the 4,000-5,000 range. The highest number of tests at 5,174 was on December 22, a far cry from the daily 10,000-test target of the state health department.
In contrast, during Covid waves or even later when there was a surge of cases, the number of tests conducted was far more. On August 24, 24,113 tests were conducted in the state, according to the Covid bulletin issued by the health department.
In August too, the Centre had written to Telangana and six other states criticising them for conducting less than desired tests. Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated that testing was low in 12 districts of the state and suggested a slew of measures.
The onus of getting tested lies not just with the government, but with the people also said general physician Dr K. Shivaraj adding that citizens have been ignoring Covid norms and getting tests.
“But now, people, especially those at high risk, should get tested for Covid if they have a cough, cold or fever. In addition to this, children should also be tested, especially because we still don’t know how they are affected by Covid, as not many were infected earlier.”
