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NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (Xinhua): India’s federal Ministry of Health said Saturday that there has been an unprecedented increase in testing capacity for Covid-19 and that the number of tests performed has passed the 40 million mark.
“Cumulative tests have seen an unprecedented increase and exceed 40 million today.
“With focused, consistent and coordinated efforts led by the center (federal government) and implemented by state governments, India has set a new milestone of testing 40,406,609 people,” the Health Ministry said.
Officials see it as an achievement in the fight against the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic since January.
“India has come a long way from conducting a single test at the Pune lab in January to crossing the 40 million test milestone,” the ministry said.
Single-day testing has also seen an increase.
India has reached the testing capacity of one million tests per day and during the last 24 hours 928,761 Covid-19 tests were conducted.
A healthcare worker collects samples during a door-to-door test drive for Covid-19 in Gauhati, India, on Saturday (August 29, 2020). – AP
“More than 900,000 tests were carried out for the third consecutive day,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, India was following the strategic approach of test, trace and treat, where testing forms the initial and crucial pillar of Covid-19 response and management.
“It is only through aggressive testing that positive cases are identified at an early stage, their close contacts can be quickly traced and isolated, and timely and effective treatment can be ensured for those in home isolation and those hospitalized,” he said. the ministry.
In January this year, there was only one laboratory to test for Covid-19.
However, the number of laboratories today is 1,576, 1,002 in the government sector and 574 in the private sector.
Meanwhile, the ministry said the country’s Covid-19 count on Saturday has risen to 3,463,972.
According to the ministry, 2,648,998 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement, bringing the recovery rate to 74.47 percent.
Globally, India is the third country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. – Xinhua
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