Ahmedabad: With a surge in Covid-19 case, people are increasingly doing a quick test at home instead of going to a certified test center or calling in technicians from the pathology laboratory.
This has pushed the sale of fast testing kits.
The estimated Federation of Gujarat State Chemists and the Retail Association (FGSCDA) shows that at least 50,000 testing kits are being sold throughout the country every day.
Alpesh Patel, President, FGSCDA, said: “People keep this kit at home as a precaution, even though there is the efficacy of the test.” Patel added: “Because the number of Covid-19 cases increased rapidly, instead of going to the Covid-19 testing room regulated by the authority of the citizenship or to urban health centers, people who were able to pay for this kit at home.” He continued by saying: “Most people who have mild symptoms want to be doubled and therefore buy this kit.
Those who are health conscious also tend to buy a kit.” At least four to five pharmaceutical companies producing the kit that is ready to be available on the market and costs in the market RS 250 to RS 350 per kit.
Individual chemists at Ahmedabad confirmed that five to 10 kits were sold every day since the last week, after a surge in the case.
“For the past five days, at least five kits are being sold on a table of our store every day,” said a chemist in Prahladnagar.
“People who know the kit like that buy it as part of their monthly medical equipment.
Those who often travel keep this kit useful.” Yogesh Patel, a Navrangpura chemist, said: “I sold around 100 kits for the past five days.
Buy it as a precaution.
“Chemists say that people who tend to travel frequently to work or have extra careful elderly family members and those who have symptoms are now starting to test at home before choosing the RT-PCR test.