covid: State Wants +ve Results Via Rapid Tests, Home Kits To Be Updated On Portal | Pune News – Times of India

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PUNE: Non-reporting of positive Covid results via rapid antigen test (RAT) kits and home tests, by laboratories and individuals, remains a concern.
On Wednesday, state additional chief secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas wrote to all divisional commissioners and collectors to ensure that labs update all positive results via RAT on the district portal. Citizens testing themselves using home kits have also been asked to declare and upload positive results to ensure adequate monitoring by local authorities during the home isolation period.

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Vyas wrote that strict monitoring of cases remains key as genomic surveillance data showed that 70% of Covid cases involved the more serious Delta variant of the new coronavirus, indicating that it’s still in circulation.
Senior officials involved in sequencing said this high share of Delta cases is from December’s report and is expected to reduce in key regions due to the fast-moving Omicron variant, which according to research, causes relatively milder Covid.

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The officials said many key cities and regions of the state, including Mumbai, Thane and parts of Pune, were showing an Omicron surge and their report for January is likely to show a push towards the variant’s dominance over Delta.
Officials said Vyas’ caution aims to ensure those carrying out self-tests at home do not completely ignore the presence of Delta, which can cause serious Covid and put pressure on hospitals’ resources.
State health minister Rajesh Tope, after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, also said that while most new cases are mild, one has to report positive cases on the portal so as to be properly monitored by health officials.
In his letter, Vyas also directed local authorities to seek assistance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor all sales of rapid test kits to pharmacies to spot locations where they’re being used on a large scale.
“Chemist shop owners can also be educated to inform the person purchasing such kits to report positive test report to authorities,” the letter stated.
Representatives from the chemists’ association said they have been asking customers to immediately report and consult a doctor if they test positive via the home-test kits.
Anil Belkar, the secretary of the Chemists Association of Pune district, said there is a high demand for self-test kits, which means people have to be told to upload positive Covid-19 results on the portal. “We will ask everyone who buys a kit to do so,” he told TOI.

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