Anurag Goel reviewed COVID-19 situation in Hailakandi district

HAILAKANDI: Commissioner and Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Anurag Goel asked the district administration to step up swab tests under Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and to isolate those found corona positive to prevent further community transmission.

Reviewing the COVID-19 pandemic situation at Deputy Commissioner's conference hall here on Sunday, Commissioner and Secretary, Goel said the best way to contain the spread of COVID-19 is through aggressive testing under RAT in market places, godowns and in areas with high positivity cases. "Aggressive testing under RAT and isolating the positive persons is the best way to tackle the situation. The more the number of cases are detected, the more the chances of containing the disease," he said.

Citing the case of COVID hotspot Guwahati, Goel said aggressive testing coupled with immediate isolation of COVID-19 positive patients has enabled to bring down drastically the rate of positivity from areas as high as 30 per cent to just 3.5 per cent as of now which is expected to dip further to a mere 1.0 to 1.5 per cent by August 25. "It's a credit rather than discredit for an administration to detect more number of corona cases, as this is the best way to arrest the spread of the disease," he quipped.

Setting a target of 1,500 swab tests everyday for the district administration, Goel urged the administration to set up two to three COVID-19 testing and screening centers in those areas with maximum number of positive cases and to conduct aggressive testing in the next 15 to 20 days.

The senior health official directed the administration to make it mandatory for all government offices and other establishments to undergo RAT. He said that the district heads would have to certify that he or she along with other staff have all undergone swab tests.

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