Ludhiana leads Punjab in Covid testing

Nitin Jain
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 21

Stepping up the sustained campaign against the devastating second Covid wave, Ludhiana district has been leading the state in testing the symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, which is a key to trace and treat the deadly virus patients at an early stage.

The weekly data compiled by the Health and Family Welfare Department, a copy of which is with The Tribune, revealed that Ludhiana conducted a record 43,333 RT-PCR tests, which were more than double compared to 21,486 tests done by its nearest rival Jalandhar between May 13 and 19.

Much ahead of other districts

Ludhiana conducts more than double RT-PCR tests and over three times antigen testing compared to nearest rivals Jalandhar and Bathinda, respectively.

Similarly, Ludhiana also topped the state in conducting antigen testing by recording 56,390 RAT tests, which were over three times compared to 17,419 antigen tests done by Bathinda, which stood second in the state, between May 13 and 19.

In another positive sign, Ludhiana district’s positivity rate from RT-PCR tests remained 12.9 per cent, which was even lower than Jalandhar’s 14.7 per cent and state’s positivity rate of 14.2 per cent between May 13 and 19.

In the antigen testing also, the district’s positivity remained 3 per cent, which was over four times less than 12.6 per cent of Bathinda and less than half of state’s positivity rate of 6.4 per cent registered between May 13 and 19.

Other districts stood nowhere in front of Ludhiana either in RT-PCR or RAT testing.

In RT-PCR testing, Patiala stood third with 17,100 tests at positivity rate of 14.2 per cent between May 13 and 19, followed by Hoshiarpur 16,899 at 9.5 per cent, Amritsar 16,054 at 15.7 per cent, Mohali 15,893 at 28.7 per cent, Gurdaspur 14,184 at 5.9 per cent, Pathankot 12,958 at 13.1 per cent, Kapurthala 11,989 at 6.3 per cent, Mansa 11,149 at 13.5 per cent, Sangrur 10,765 at 10.1 per cent, Bathinda 9,756 at highest positivity rate of 28.93 per cent, Muktsar 9,509 at 14.7 per cent, Nawanshahr 8,064 at 23.1 per cent, Fazilka 7,378 at 5.7 per cent, Ropar 6,750 at 14 per cent, Tarn Taran 5,511 at 5.6 per cent, Faridkot 5,218 at 16.8 per cent, Fatehgarh Sahib 5,075 at 13.2 per cent, Barnala 3,954 at 10.3 per cent, Ferozepur 3,458 at 27 per cent and Moga conducted the minimum 2,122 tests at a comparatively high positivity rate of 18.2 per cent.

In antigen testing, Amritsar ranked third in the state with 14,291 tests at 1.8 per cent positivity rate, followed by Fazilka 14,176 at 9.9 per cent, Jalandhar 13,953 at 7 per cent, Sangrur 13,627 at 3.7 per cent, Patiala 12,564 at 7.2 per cent, Muktsar 11,643 at 12.5 per cent, Gurdaspur 7,227 at 8.1 per cent, Faridkot 6,880 at 8.2 per cent, Hoshiarpur 6,729 at 6.4 per cent, Mohali 6,726 at 5.4 per cent, Kapurthala 6,390 at 7.1 per cent, Fatehgarh Sahib 5,174 at 3.1 per cent, Moga 4,999 at 6.2 per cent, Nawanshahr 4,576 at 3 per cent, Pathankot 4,208 at 9.7 per cent, Ferozepur 3,323 at highest positivity rate of 13.6 per cent, Mansa 2,344 at 11.4 per cent, Tarn Taran 1,813 at 8.5 per cent, Barnala 1,703 at 6.5 per cent and Ropar conducted the lowest 1,482 RAT tests at a high positivity rate of 11 per cent between May 13 and 19.

“The districts have been asked to ramp up the testing and tracing drives under the T3 strategy to test, trace and treat the Covid patients at an early stage. The more the testing, the more symptomatic and asymptomatic patients traced and treated to check the spread of the deadly virus,” said Hussan Lal, Principal Health Secretary.