The initiative first started with the residents of Suryakiran Awasana on Umakanta Sen Lane in north Kolkata’s Paikpara, during which as many as 74 people underwent Rapid Antigen tests.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Sunday launched a first-of-its-kind initiative, “Free Covid Test at Doorstep”, in the city. The programme had been announced by KMC Board of Administrators’ Chairman and Trinamool Congress MP Firhad Hakim on Saturday to boost the number of daily Covid-19 tests to trace suspected patients.
The initiative first started with the residents of Suryakiran Awasana on Umakanta Sen Lane in north Kolkata’s Paikpara, during which as many as 74 people underwent Rapid Antigen tests. The test reports were available in just 30 minutes.
According to Trinamool MP Dr Santanu Sen, no one among those whose samples were collected on Sunday tested positive for Covid-19.
“There are 300 people in the society. In the initial phase, 74 people were tested. Those who will test positive will be advised for home isolation or will be sent to safe homes,” said Sen.
“If test reports of a resident with symptoms say ‘Covid negative’, the municipality will collect that person’s saliva for an RT-PCR test, all free of cost,” the MP added.
According to officials, Kolkata is the first municipal corporation in the country to introduce Covid testing at doorstep.
Any individual, or local clubs and organisations, can contact Hakim at his WhatsApp number (9830037493) to organise a test camp in their locality. The sender has to text details such as name, address and phone number to that number
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kolkata / by Express News Service / August 24th, 2020