ICMR’s decision to revise the current Covid-19 testing strategy announced on Tuesday which will now include all symptomatic individuals in every part of the country for compulsory testing can be called a much-needed step. Right from WHO to a growing number of public healthcare experts as well as from all those fighting the pandemic on the ground, there has been a repeated demand that India must widen the ambit of testing to throw a solid fight. Even if much late, the strategy has finally seen an alteration and to say facts, there was no other option left since the current rates of upsurge, cases and deaths alike, foretell that the worst might still be waiting. The highest single-day spike of 15,968 new positive cases and 465 deaths in last 24 hours and the onward march towards the 5 lakh cases mark and 15000 deaths is a grim reminder that the pandemic is in its ‘finest hour’.  

It’s relevant to recall that the strategy hitherto had a limited applicability as testing of symptomatic individuals was restricted only to those in hospitals, containment zones, hotspots, contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 positive, healthcare and frontline workers and those with history of international travel. ICMR in its revised strategy has also recommended deployment of rapid antigen detection tests for Covid-19 in combination with RT-PCR tests in all containment zones, central and state government medical colleges, government hospitals and private hospitals approved by the NABH and NABL-accredited & ICMR approved private labs empanelled for testing. ICMR has further announced that the country has currently1000 testing labs, 730 in government setups and 270 in private sector. Even if the much-needed thrust has been made, it goes without saying that in respect of total population and more specifically the increasing number of people who are getting vulnerable in a progressive manner, it’s still inadequate.

The need will be more starkly felt in Arunachal where more testing facilities are needed, keeping in view of the late upsurge of cases. It should be taken into account that limited testing facilities will mean overburdening of test cases, thereby causing delays in getting results and commencement of actual medical attendance, which in long-term perspective will act as a deterrent to the ultimate objective of making Arunachal corona-free.

A day or two with little or no cases doesn’t necessarily mean the danger is all over. Only an elaborate testing mechanism can reveal the true status of the pandemic and this is vital since all major public-oriented decisions, whether reopening of schools, further relaxation of transport and so on will depend on the counts of cases, which in turn depend on the scale of testing.

Arunachal mustn’t neglect this vital aspect and add more testing facilities without wasting further time.