Karnataka scales up COVID-19 tests 5 times to 1,500 per day

April 17, 2020 12:17

Karnataka has scaled up the number of coronovirus tests by five times, said a key Minister, who regretted that some of those who died due to COVID-19 pandemic could have saved their lives had they opted to avail the treatment early. In the biggest jump in a day, Karnataka reported 36 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total to 315 in the State, where the death toll stands at 13.

Speaking to PTI on Friday, Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K, who is in-charge of all matters related to COVID-19, said those are not new cases in the sense they are related to primary and secondary contacts (who have been quarantined) of those who have already tested positive.

He said 200-300 real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR) tests, one of the most accurate laboratory methods for detecting, tracking, and studying the coronavirus, were used to be conducted a day in the State. The number has now been increased five times, to 1,500 such tests per day, the Minister said, adding, it would be further scaled up substantially once rapid test kits are delivered from China in a day or two.

-- PTI

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