Punjab testing rate better than national avg: Health Dept

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 13

Challenging the central government’s adverse report on low Covid sampling and contact tracing, the Health Department said there could be a communication gap as remarks in the letter and figures didn’t match.

Health officials said they had already replied to the issues raised by the central government with facts and figures.

Dr Rajesh Bhasker, state nodal officer, said: “They (central team) may have, due to some communication gap, interpreted the situation differently.”

Challenging their observation of low Covid sampling in Patiala, he said tests per million in Patiala were around 2,000, while the national average was 1,051, almost twice as much higher.

The central government, in a letter to the state government, had highlighted low testing and contact tracing in Patiala and other districts of the state. Besides, the central government had asked Patiala to enhance focus on vaccination.

Dr Bhasker said the Centre, in its report, had said 100 per cent of the active cases in Ludhiana were home isolated, which was obviously not true. “There was some communication gap in the interpretation of data, therefore, we have now replied with explanation thereof.”

Dr Sumeet Singh, an epidemiologist, said: “Our testing figures are far better than the national average. So, there is no question of low testing. Moreover, our contact tracing is better than the national figure.”

On the Centre’s remark on the pace of vaccination in Patiala, Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said they had been vaccinating more than 8,000 people every day, which was the second highest in the state.

The central government had directed Patiala and Ludhiana to enhance contact tracing and said contact tracing in SAS Nagar was hampered due to staff shortage. However, health officials said contact tracing of positive patients was not hampered as it was the highest in the state.

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