Covid circumstances up in Maharashtra, testing a priority | Pune Information

PUNE: Almost 22 districts within the state, the place Covid RT-PCR testing was beneath the obligatory 60% share final week, have been requested to scale up their numbers, senior well being officers stated on Saturday.

Further chief secretary of well being Dr Pradeep Vyas stated testing has slipped within the state. “The WHO recommends 140 checks per million folks day-after-day, or 980 checks per million every week. Final week, there was a serious shortfall within the variety of weekly checks in almost 26 districts. It is a main level of concern,” he stated.
One other fear is the broader use of fast antigen kits. RT-PCR testing, not like the unmonitored fast checks, permits for optimistic samples to be despatched for genome sequencing, a important surveillance measure contemplating the state just lately detected Omicron subvariants BA.4, BA.5 in samples from Pune.
“Districts have to extend testing in order that sufficient samples will be despatched for sequencing. We saved an in depth watch and that is why the state was capable of detect the Omicron subvariants in affected person samples,” stated state surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate.
Dr Awate stated it was crucial to hold out periodic evaluation of all optimistic circumstances with respect to time, location and particular person (age, intercourse, and so on) to assist authorities kind localised motion plans.
“Geographical distribution of circumstances is essential to search out out if there are clusters,” he stated, including that the general medical spectrum of circumstances also needs to be analysed together with numbers of breakthrough and reinfection circumstances.
State process drive member Dr Rahul Pandit stated sufficient testing must be carried out throughout all districts.
“We want higher local-level screenings to make sure no circumstances are not noted,” he stated.