The district administration has decided to reach out to schools and colleges in the wake of speculations on the rise of Covid-19 cases. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Isha Kalia also formed teams to expedite the sampling to prevent the spread of the infection. There is also a decline in the number of testing which shall be increased across the district. Speaking to The Indian Express, the DC said that testing will be increased and they are targeting the students of various educational institutes. The testing of students will take place in all schools across the district which will start on December 1 and be completed by December 16. When asked about the low number of sample collection in the district, the DC said that they had set a target to collect around 3,400 samples per day but in the last few months, due to a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases, people become reluctant and do not bother to get themselves tested. “Our teams are holding camps for testing but people are coming in fewer numbers, I urge the people to come and get tested and not take even the minor fever lightly,” the DC further said. At present the health department is testing around 1,000 people against a target of 3,400. The positivity rate of the district is also below 1 percent. The health department collected a total of 6,57,969 samples out of which 5,76,019 people had been tested negative. The district had reported a total of 1,072 deaths due to the infection. The DC added that the protocol was already in place for international travellers and their teams have been following up with people coming from abroad. She said that the administration gets a list of passengers who have arrived in the state from abroad following which the health department teams continue to regularly check with them over phone calls and taking feedback.
