Bhubaneswar: The Capital city which has seen an unprecedented surge in Covid cases is likely to see further spikes in coming days as the civic authorities ramp up testing in the City.
From March 17, when Bhubaneswar recorded its first case, the active cases tally has surged to 1,991 cases with 163 fresh cases recorded, Sunday. While the city had been recording 50 cases daily on an average, the number has crossed the 100-mark and the trend is getting dangerous, experts say.
“The sudden rise in cases is only because of increased tests. Up until now, we were able to carry around 800 tests per day on an average basis but Saturday alone we did 1,185 tests. We will be conducting 1,400 tests a day. The increase in tests will help in better screening and thus, we can move fast towards isolating them and secure others,” explained Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner, Prem Chandra Chaudhary.
As per sources, the city hospitals are equipped with various Covid tests broadly divided into three categories: RT-PCR, Antigen Test and True-NAT. While RT-PCR test, which includes a process that copies and amplifies specific genetic fragments of the coronavirus, is available in Capital Hospital, IMS-SUM Hospital, AIIMS, Apollo and Shree Hospital among others.
Meanwhile, Antigen Test that detects a particular protein material in the coronavirus related to the human being’s natural immune response is available at Capital Hospital, IMS-SUM Hospital. Similarly, True NAT tests which produce results relatively quicker is facilitated at Capital Hospital, AMRI, Shree Hospital and at various camps organised by the BMC from time to time.
Requesting denizens not to panic after seeing the surge in cases, BMC Commissioner in a press conference, Saturday said, “80 per cent of the cases detected till now have been asymptomatic.” Moreover, detailing the city’s preparedness for rising cases, Chaudhary stated that the city has a capacity of 3,321 COVID beds with 85 ICU beds.
“Moreover, not all cases need COVID care centres and hospitals. Until now, the city has had 909 recoveries and much of these have been asymptomatic which got cured at home quarantine only. Saturday, the city saw 1,185 tests out of which 789 tests were done through RT-PCR, 293 through Antigen Tests and 103 through TrueNAT tests. These tests will result in detection of more cases and ultimately, faster decision making,” he concluded.