Additional chief secretary of health Dr Pradeep Vyas said testing has slipped in the state. He said, “WHO recommends 140 tests per million people every day or 980 tests per week. Last week, there was a big reduction in the number of weekly tests in about 26 districts. This is a major point of concern.”
Another concern is the widespread use of rapid antigen kits. RT-PCR test, unlike uncontrolled rapid tests, allows sending of positive samples for genome sequencing, an important surveillance measure considering the recently detected state omicron Subvariants BA.4, BA.5 in the sample from Pune.
State surveillance officer Dr. Pradeep Awate said, “Districts will have to increase testing so that enough samples can be sent for sequencing. We kept a close watch and this is the reason that the state was able to detect the omicron subvariant in patients’ samples.”
Dr Awte said that it is necessary to conduct periodic analysis of all the positive cases with respect to time, place and person (age, gender, etc.) to help the authorities in making a localized action plan.
“Geographical distribution of cases is important to ascertain whether there are clusters,” he said, adding that the overall clinical spectrum of cases should be analyzed along with the number of successive and re-infection cases.
State task force member Dr Rahul Pandit said that adequate testing should be done in all districts.
“We need better local level investigation to ensure that no case is left out,” he said.