Ease lockdown curbs, improve Covid testing in Kerala: Experts
3 min read Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The extension of lockdown has worsened the livelihood points a lot in order that specialists have demanded the federal government to additional ease the restrictions with out compromising on the vigil in opposition to Covid. According to them, additional tightening of restrictions with out discovering extra Covid constructive individuals is an anti-poor stand by the federal government. Finding extra Covid constructive individuals by rising the variety of exams is the necessity of the hour to scale back the take a look at positivity fee, which is the variety of constructive circumstances among the many whole samples examined.
Even when the day by day take a look at numbers have lowered significantly than the pre-lockdown days, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday mentioned the TPR not coming down was the most important cause for extending the lockdown. He, nevertheless, mentioned the lockdown had been efficient because the unfold of an infection and the crowding at hospitals had come down through the interval. The rush witnessed on Friday itself was proof that individuals wanted extra such days as a substitute of getting small window intervals, he mentioned.
“Most people do not have the financial cushion to wait till the TPR comes to a desirable level at the current levels of testing. Instead, the government should increase the number of tests by at least 40,000 to reduce the TPR. Instead of locking down the entire population, it would be better to find more Covid positive people and lock them down,” mentioned well being activist Dr Arun N M.
The state imposed the lockdown on May 8 and prolonged it twice until June 16, affecting primarily the livelihood of individuals working in unorganised sectors. Even when there’s a menace of a 3rd wave looming, specialists need the federal government to take the average threat for the sake of addressing the livelihood points. While the federal government depends on TPR knowledge, the reviews from testing centres discovered that solely symptomatic individuals get examined.
State secretary of Indian Medical Association, Dr Gopikumar P, mentioned the testing technique utilizing fast antigen kits was fraught with accuracy points and the precise an infection unfold within the society could be increased. “It is true that the continuation of lockdown has started affecting even the upper middle class. But lockdown should not be lifted suddenly as it had happened after the first wave,” he mentioned.
“The testing numbers have reduced because many are not coming forward. Lifting the lockdown all of a sudden will be disastrous because of the threat of the third wave of Covid. Still, we can check various epidemiological indicators including TPR to offer relaxation in districts that are in a better position compared to others,” mentioned Dr Anish T S, assistant professor on the Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College Hospital, right here.
Campaign Against Pseudo Science Using Law and Ethics (CAPSULE) chairman Dr U Nandakumar Nair mentioned extra testing is the necessity of the hour as testing, tracing and isolating proceed to be the important thing to checking the unfold of an infection until a majority of individuals get vaccinated.
TPR CONUNDRUMTest positivity fee (TPR) is a metric to measure the present stage of Covid transmission. It is the variety of individuals discovered constructive when 100 samples are examined. Inaccurate take a look at outcomes (relying on the high quality of take a look at kits) have an effect on the studying. Testing solely symptomatic samples offers excessive TPR.
