Ludhiana district shows the way, leads Punjab in Covid testing

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 6

Ludhiana, being the biggest and largest district in terms of area and maximum population of almost 4 million, has been leading the state in the Covid testing, with an average of 7,706 tests daily in September, the government has confirmed.

Against the state’s average of 48 per cent, Ludhiana district has been conducting 51 per cent RT-PCR tests of the total testing done daily, official figures have revealed.

The daily testing figures compiled by the Health and Family Welfare Department, a copy of which is with The Tribune, showed that Ludhiana conducted 51 per cent RT-PCR and 49 per cent rapid antigen tests (RATs) daily between September 22 and 28. However, the state’s average of antigen testing was 52 per cent. A total of 2,31,190 tests were conducted in the district during September.

The district-wise tally indicated that Gurdaspur conducted the maximum of 89 per cent antigen and the minimum of 11 per cent RT-PCR tests while Fazilka conducted the maximum of 98 per cent RT-PCR and the minimum of 2 per cent antigen tests in the state.

Among other districts, Hoshiarpur conducted 79 per cent antigen and 21 per cent RT-PCR, Faridkot 76 pc antigen 24 pc RT-PCR, Muktsar 73 pc antigen 27 pc RT-PCR, Jalandhar 65 pc antigen 35 pc RT-PCR, Kapurthala 56 pc antigen 44 pc RT-PCR, Moga 51 pc antigen 49 pc RT-PCR, Mohali and Tarn Taran 49 pc antigen 71 pc RT-PCR, Pathankot 42 pc antigen 58 pc RT-PCR, Amritsar 38 pc antigen 62 pc RT-PCR, Nawanshahr 36 pc antigen 64 pc RT-PCR, Patiala 35 pc antigen 65 pc RT-PCR, Barnala 34 pc antigen 66 pc RT-PCR, Fatehgarh Sahib 32 pc antigen 68 pc RT-PCR, Sangrur 30 pc antigen 70 pc RT-PCR, Bathinda 26 pc antigen 74 pc RT-PCR, Ferozepur 25 pc antigen 75 pc RT-PCR, Mansa and Ropar 14 pc antigen 86 pc RT-PCR, and Fazilka conducted 2 pc antigen and 98 pc RT-PCR tests.

The difference

RT-PCR: The Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was considered the most recommended for tracing the infection in individuals suffering from influenza-like symptoms. It uses real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR diagnostic panels for detecting the presence of viral RNA, which was quite accurate. Swab samples were analysed for reagents to identify the presence of the virus. This test can detect the virus even before the emergence of symptoms and aid in isolation, preventing the further spread of infection.

RAT: The rapid antigen test (RAT) comes in handy only while detecting symptomatic patients. It was also done by collecting samples from the nose or throat with a swab. Though results can be revealed within 30 minutes, the test was not considered accurate, as it may not read into vital proteins that are part of Covid at initial stages.

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