CHANDIGARH: Against the backdrop of the fall in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases in Punjab, there has also been a dip in testing conducted for identifying infected people in the state.
Punjab’s last seven-day average of tests per million population has slipped below the national average after staying ahead for long.
However, it continues to be better than the neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Punjab was holding on to the fifth spot till June 5 among the worst-hit states by conducting 2,164 tests per million against the all-India seven-day average of 1,951.
As the number of daily tests dropped a few notches in the first week of June, Punjab’s seven-day average of tests per million fell to 2,038 while the national average went up to 2,271 on June 9.
During the second wave of the infection, the state government ramped up daily testing and conducted 42,977 tests on average per day in April, and increased it to 65,635 tests per day in May, the month which witnessed the highest number of cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The average daily count of tests has come down to 63,093 in the first nine days of June.
During this period, 49,156 samples were examined on June 7, the lowest number of daily tests in 44 days.
Punjab is using both reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid antigen test for detecting Covid.
Testing is considered the most important factor in controlling the spread of the virus by identifying infected people early and isolating them.
Explaining the reasons for less testing, Punjab Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said that besides routine testing, the health department had launched a campaign to screen suspected patients or patients showing symptoms.
The people showing symptoms were tested using RAT.
He further added that the exercise is now over as a result there has been a slight drop in the number of daily testing.
“Despite that, the daily average test count is over 60,000, which is much better than many states,” he added.
So far, Punjab has conducted 32,901 tests per lakh population.
For every lakh people in Punjab, 32,901 samples have been tested while 32,760 tests per lakh were carried out in Haryana, and 28,482 per lakh in Himachal Pradesh.