COVID-19 test results to be announced within one hour in Guwahati, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today announced that a new kind of testing -- termed as the COVID-19 AG test -- will be introduced in Guwahati within the next few days with the intention of boosting the number of tests. Sarma said that under this new system, the results can be declared in an hour.

Sarma said that the decision has been taken after Union Minister Amit Shah during a video call with the DG of the (Indian Council of Medical Research), has asked the Assam Government to conduct 10,000 tests per day in Guwahati, owing to the rise in the number of cases.

Subsequent to that video call, the DG-ICMR called Assam's Principal Secretary health and they have suggested a new testing model based on which the Government will base its future testing mechanisms. This new test, Sarma said, will be conducted on swabs. "If it is positive, it is confirmed positive. However, if the result of a person with symptoms, if declared negative, will be sent for an RT-PCR test.

Sarma said that personnel will be trained from tomorrow onwards and the new practice will come into effect from the day-after-tomorrow on an experimental basis and will be regularized afterward. "We will be able to give results within 1 or 1 and a half hours. In severe viral cases, we will be able to procure tests within 15 minutes", Sarma said, adding that tests will be conducted in the COVID counselling centres, and the results will also be delivered promptly. "This will greatly enhance our capability of testing to a different level. And complaints regarding the delay in COVID-19 test results will cease", Sarma said.

The Minister also said that a new website will be opened via which a person can avail his/her COVID-19 test results by entering an SRF number. "From tomorrow onwards, a person can check his/her result online", Sarma said, adding that 3.42 lakh results from the backlogs will also be available on the site. The details of this new website, Sarma said, will be available on the National Health Mission (NHM) website.

Scolding citizens of Guwahati for not going into quarantine after giving samples at the testing centres, Sarma said, "Some people after giving samples roam about. Go to hotels, offices, etc. To roam around before getting the result is almost like a criminal offence." Responding to a query about BJP President Ranjeet Dass holding a press conference before his swab results have come in, he said, "This rule is applicable to all, irrespective of political affiliation."

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