State Health department is going to conduct random test across Guwahati on cards

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: To ensure that Guwahati is on the safe side, the State Health department is going to conduct random swab tests in all government and private offices, business establishments and shops in the metropolitan city.

The department is worried over the pace of rising corona positive cases in Guwahati. It has set a target of conducting three lakh swab sample tests for COVID-19 in the city to ensure that it is free from the virus. With 1.10 lakh tests already been conducted in the city, the department is now going to conduct the remaining 1.90 lakh tests.

The city already has 30 COVID-19 testing centres, one in each ward. Now, 60 more such centres are going to be set up in the city. As many as 150 laboratory technicians are also going to be appointed for Guwahati alone. The laboratory technicians are the ones who will carry out random antigen tests on all government and private establishments, business houses etc in the city. The process is going to be started soon as the Unlock 1.0 is set from Monday that may make people mingle freely and complicate the situation.

The department has also asked all nursing homes to install their own COVID-test machines so as to conduct the test of their own employees. Some of the private hospitals in the city have started COVID-19 sample testing from the government's side. Everything seems to be done in haste as 40 per cent of the total COVID-19 toll in the State is from Guwahati.

On complaints from various quarters doing the rounds across the State that COVID-19 patients can also be treated at homes, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We've already made it clear that the department has no objection in such a proposition, only if the conditions set for that are fulfilled. However, majority of people of the State aren't ready to take such a risk. Corona patients whose CP value (ceruloplasmin) ranges from 34-35 can't transmit the virus to others. We're making an arrangement for the treatment of such patients at their respective homes with tele-medicines."

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