JOIN USMumbai gets 1 lakh Rapid Antigen kits as virus rages on
As Maharashtra grapples with a big coronavirus spike, Mumbai's civic body has procured one lakh Rapid Antigen testing kits for diagnosing Covid-19 cases.
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These kits have been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), that has adopted a universal testing policy, to control the pandemic, is targeting different areas.Ss far as the Rapid Antigen tests are concerned, the focus is on five wards - P/South (Goregaon), P/North (Malad), R/South (Kandivli), R/Central (Borivli West) and R/North (Dahisar) besides all medical colleges and containment zones. Gradually, more areas will be covered.
"The test is recommended for all symptomatic Covid-19 suspects and asymptomatic high-risk contacts with comorbidities," BMC officials said.
If the test is negative in a symptomatic Covid-19 suspect, then the second sample will be taken for Reverse Transcription Polymerise Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test.
According to BMC officials, so far, 724 tests have been done.
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It is estimated that every day around 2,000 Rapid Antigen tests will be conducted. Currently, the BMC is conducting about 3,500-5,000 RT-PCR tests daily.
While RT-PCR takes almost eight hours to give results, the antigen-based test that uses nasal swab samples are out within 30 minutes. There are plans for Covid-19 frontline workers to also undergo the test.