For random testing, Kerala readies a long list of subjects
Kerala, from where India's first coronavirus case was reported, is planning to randomly test people to understand whether community transmission has started. For this gigantic exercise, the southern state has prepared a long list of subjects. These subjects work in different professions and come in contact with a large population. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there is no community transmission yet, but threat persists.
Thanks to a dedicated team of health professionals, Kerala managed to make the coronavirus curve linear. The total number of cases stands at 447 with 316 being discharged. The state is now taking steps to understand whether Stage 3 of the transmission has started. In Stage 3, the source of the infection becomes untraceable and the number of cases sees an exponential rise.
"Random antibody test will be conducted among the police, health officials, online/door delivery persons, and guest laborers. This is to ensure there is no community spread in the country," Vijayan told reporters at a press meet on Thursday.
Two labs — one at Pariyaram Government Medical College, Kannur, and another in Kottayam Medical College have been set up and have also got ICMR's approval, Vijayan said. The Kannur lab will start working from Friday, he added. Having four real-time PCR machines, the lab will be able to do 15 tests daily in the first phase. It will be increased to 60 later.
"With the opening of these two new labs, tests to detect COVID-19 will be conducted in 14 government labs. Apart from this, there are two private labs which are doing these tests," Vijayan said, adding that 10 real-time PCR machines are being procured.
Notably, India hasn't done random testing due to kits' shortage. The Indian Council of Medical Research, the apex body leading the fight against COVID-19, ruled out random tests through the RT-PCR method, as it is not cost-effective. These tests have to be conducted in labs and results are declared after at least six hours. It's unclear how Kerala plans to conduct random testing.
To note, in districts like Kottayam and Idukki, restrictions were put back in place after fresh coronavirus cases were reported from there. From Idukki, which was labeled a green zone, four cases were reported and two cases were reported from Kottayam. Barring Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram, which are red zone districts, all 10 districts have been labeled as orange districts.
