India conducts over 3.6 crore COVID19 tests, Tests Per Million (TPM) rises: Health Ministry
Aug 24, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 24 : In the fight against COVID-19, India has conducted nearly 3.6 crore tests to diagnose coronavirus disease, the nation has also seen a rise in the tests per million per day as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) i.e. TPM has currently increased to 26,016, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
WHO in its Guidance Note on "Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of COVID-19" stated that a country needs 140 tests per day per million population as a measure for comprehensive surveillance for suspected COVID-19 cases.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the nation has tested at least 3,59,02,137 so far since the beginning of the virus pandemic. With 6,09,917tests conducted in the last 24 hours, India is on its resolved drive to increase its testing capacity.
"Easy access to testing through expanded diagnostic lab network across the country has given a substantial boost to the present numbers. As a result of these focussed actions, the Tests Per Million (TPM) have seen a sharp increase to 26,016. The TPM continues to maintain the constant upward trend," stated the health ministry.
A prominent determinant of the evolving testing strategy is the steadily widening diagnostic lab network in the country.
This has significantly grown to 1,520 labs till date, including 984 labs in the government sector and 536 private labs. These include RT PCR based testing labs: 785, TrueNat based testing labs: 617 and CBNAAT based testing labs: 118.
