Tamil Nadu tests over 1 crore Covid-19 samples

Tamil Nadu has become the first state in South India to have tested over 1 crore Covid-19 samples since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus earlier this year, even as the state continues to register a dip in the number of people testing positive for the virus.

At last count on Monday morning, the state had tested 1,00,29,222 samples as the number of individuals whose swab samples were collected stood at 97,60,029. Officials pointed out that Tamil Nadu is the only state that stuck to the RT-PCR test method, considered the gold standard by the medical fraternity, without taking to antigen and rapid test methods that provide faster results.

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The state has been witnessing a steady decline in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus for some time now with the cases hovering around 2,600 for the past few days. Two north Indian states – Uttar Pradesh and Bihar – have already tested over 1 crore Covid-19 samples.

While Andhra Pradesh has tested 81.82 lakh samples, Karnataka has collected 80.12 lakh samples, Kerala (46.95 lakh), and Telangana (42.81 lakh) till Monday morning. Officials said that Tamil Nadu has 203 testing centres, one of the highest in the country.

“We have been following the aggressive testing policy from the month of April and we have come to a point where we have tested over 1 crore samples. This was possible because of the Health infrastructure that was available in the state. And we also used Covid-19 to augment the infrastructure. And we are the only state to have tested all samples using RT-PCR,” a senior government official told DH.

However, with the festive season approaching, the Health Department has made it clear that it was not letting the guard down and will continue to follow the aggressive testing policy. The official added that the government was now planning to test traders and shopkeepers due to the anticipated festival rush.

Chief Secretary K Shanmugam has also convened a meeting of district secretaries on November 4 to discuss the Covid-19 strategy. Besides the festive season, the government also feels the monsoon season could also lead to a spike in Covid-19 numbers post-Deepavali.