After a Union government directive on ramping up COVID-19 testing, the UP government decided to increase testing further and fixed a target to carry out one lakh tests per day soon.
At present, around 55,000 tests per day are being carried out in government facilities.
Though the government has not fixed any date for achieving the target, a road map has been chalked out so that UP, which has the largest population in India, can boast of the highest number of COVID-19 tests.
Recently, the Centre asked 10 states, including Uttar Pradesh, to increase testing as it was far from the set World Health Organisation guideline of 142 tests per million per day.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said in Lucknow on Thursday that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had asked officials at a high-level meeting to increase the daily tests to one lakh per day.
UP is in the second spot after Tamil Nadu in carrying out the maximum number of tests per day. On Wednesday, the state created a record of sorts by testing 54,897 samples in a day and with this the total tests in UP have gone up to 16.54 lakh.
Awasthi said that the chief minister directed district authorities to go for massive rapid antigen tests. Smaller districts will compulsorily have to do 500 such tests daily and the bigger ones need to double this figure.
“We are now doing 20,000 rapid antigen tests daily across the state and in a few days, it will be increased to 50,000 per day. Besides TrueNat and RT-PCR tests will also increase the capacity of COVID-19 tests in the state,” he said.
Awasthi said that all districts had been asked to set up static testing booths where people could voluntarily go for COVID-19 tests.
“Those who have symptoms can go for rapid antigen tests and those without symptoms can give their samples for RT-PCR tests. Aligarh is among the first to commence a static testing booth,” he said.
Admitting a steep spike in coronavirus positive cases, the additional chief secretary said that though increase in testing had increased the number of positive cases in the state but it was good as people would get cured with timely treatment and the death rate would fall.
He said that door-to-door survey would be done more strictly in containment zones and a mobile testing van would be introduced so that testing could be done at doorsteps.
Awasthi said the chief minister expressed satisfaction over the positive results of cleanliness and sanitation drives on Saturdays and Sundays. He said the drive was launched to contain COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.
The state government has already ordered closure of all markets on weekends to make this drive successful.
Awasthi further said that the chief minister also directed district nodal officers to submit their reports to the chief secretary daily, who in turn would apprise the chief minister of COVID-19 preventive activities and health services.
“The chief minister asked the government officials to remain in constant touch with field officers too,” he said.
“The chief minister said the rainy season required more attention for prevention of various diseases in animals. He emphasised on regular checking and availability of green fodder in all cow shelters and asked the principal secretary (animal husbandry) to monitor these tasks,” Awasthi said.