House To House COVID Testing Beginning in Delhi This Weekend

To track the COVID-19 virus amid rising cases in the national capital, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in coordination with the Delhi government has planned to conduct house-to-house surveys beginning this weekend.

The planning for the survey in Delhi is in an advanced stage and it is expected to begin by the weekend and completed by November 25, said the MHA.

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The move comes three days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, took stock of the COVID-19 situation in the city and issued orders to curb the menace.

In another step directed by Shah, the Ministry said, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Delhi government are working together to enhance the RT-PCR testing capacity to 60,000 tests by the end of November.

"Testing capacity already enhanced by 10,000 tests per day on November 17."

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To bring testing closer to Delhi residents as directed by the Home Minister, the Ministry said, the ICMR is to help the Delhi government in deploying 10 mobile testing labs for COVID with a total capacity of 20,000 tests in a phased manner beginning next week.

ICMR is also to help in augmenting capacity by 2,000 tests of existing Delhi labs by deploying more manpower, increasing the number of shifts, and placing more equipment, and through engagement with private sector labs.

"The aim is to reach the testing level of 60,000 RT-PCR tests per day by November end. Five RT-PCR labs including at AIIMS, Delhi have already started functioning round the clock," the Ministry said.

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These moves are being taken after the Home Minister in a meeting with Kejriwal assured to provide 750 ICU beds at the DRDO COVID-19 center.

COVID-19 cases in Delhi started to rise after October 20. In the week ending November 14, Delhi recorded previously unseen levels of new cases, and daily fatalities have hovered close to 100 a day.

Following the inputs being received from Delhi, Union Home Minister held a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister and reviewed the situation arising due to the spike in COVID-19 cases, ensuring to provide 750 ICU beds to Delhi and many more steps.

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Meanwhile, Delhi has reported 4,95,598 positive cases so far. Of the total, 4,45,782 patients have recovered and 7,812 have lost their lives due to the virus. As per the latest 24-hours data, a total of 6,396 Covid patients were found positive in Delhi till Tuesday. (IANS)