Results of random testing indicate low infection rate outside containment zones in Noida, say officials
Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said the results of the random sampling so far, indicate that Covid-19 infection is mostly controlled in most of the areas in the district.
Out of the 400 reports— of the 1,152 samples collected at random in the district for testing against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)— only six samples have tested positive, district officials said. The low positivity rate of the samples so far, officials said, established that the infection rate was high only in high-risk containment zones and densely populated, unorganised residential areas in the district.
The random samples were collected on Saturday, and while the reports of the rest of the samples are still awaited, the reports of 400 samples came from the National Institute of Biology (NIB) on Monday.
Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said the results of the random sampling so far, indicate that Covid-19 infection is mostly controlled in most of the areas in the district. “So far, over 16,000 samples have been collected in the district, out of which 2,204 persons have been tested positive so far. We are taking samples for lab-based reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests (RT-PCR), rapid antigen kit testing, and testing methods,” he said. Till date, 8,000 rapid antigen kits have arrived in the district, out of which nearly 1,000 have been used for testing. The remaining 7,000 kits are expected to arrive in a day or two, he added.
The DM, however, said the threat of coronavirus was far from over in the district. “ To curb the spread, the administration needs to be hard sometimes. We will not allow anyone taking the relaxations under Unlock 1 for granted,” he said. “Our team of doctors is keeping a round-the-clock vigil to check the further spread of this virus in high-risk areas. On Monday, as many 39 office premises and containment zones have been thoroughly sanitised. The health workers are also sensitizing people to maintain social distance and wear masks while going out,” he said.
The district on Monday reported 53 new cases taking the overall count of the district to 2,204 cases.
District chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Deepak Ohri, as many as 211 positive patients were discharged from different hospitals on Monday—the highest number of patints to be discharged in a single-day, taking the overall number of cured patients to 1,430 in the district. “So far, 22 Covid-19 positive patients have so far lost their lives in the district so far. The district now has 756 active cases,” he said.
According to the daily state bulletin on Monday, the overall tally of the Covid-19 positive cases in the state has touched 22,828, with 685 new cases in the last 24 hours. “While 672 patients have lost their lives due to coronavirus infection in the state so far, 15,506 patients have been cured and discharged from different hospitals in the state” the bulletin stated.
Meanwhile, the police on Monday, arrested as many as seven persons in connection with the violation of section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. “Three cases under section 188 of Indian Penal Code have been lodged, while 2,132 vehicles were checked on Monday. One vehicle was seized and other 794 have been served fines,” the GB Nagar police commissionerate spokesperson said.