Navi Mumbai: NMMC concentrates on targeted testing to prevent spread of COVID-19

In the next one month, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will conduct testing aggressively and even a building with a single positive case will be declared as a hotspot and everyone in the building will be tested for the COVID 19. The decision has been taken as part of the preparation for the possible third wave of COVID 19.

The civic body termed it targeted testing to check the spread of the viruses and it claimed that it will help to find each and every infected person in the area.

For the last four weeks, NMMC has been conducting targeted testing in the hotspot area and in some buildings, 5 or more persons without any visual symptoms have been found positive of COVID 19. “There are people who do not have symptoms and thus are not tested for COVID 19. And, if they are positive, they may spread the infection,” said an official from NMMC’s Health department. He added that this is why targeted testing in the hotspot area is very important to prevent the covid virus.

Now, under the targeted testing, the civic body has started a new testing policy where even if one COVID positive patient is found in any building, the building is being declared a hotspot and all the residents are being tested. For this, daily action is being taken through the concerned Municipal Citizen Health Centers and testing camps are being conducted in the hotspots under their jurisdiction. RT-PCR tests are also being performed on people with comorbidities, senior citizens, and people with corona-like symptoms, as well as antigen tests. Now, the test report is available within 24 hours as the corporation has its own state-of-the-art lab.

The number of COVID cases under the NMMC area has been stabilizing and declining to some extent over the last month. “It should be noted that the fourth wave of covid has been reported in Japan, England, and other countries. Considering the global situation, we have a strong possibility of a third wave. In fact, it is important to keep in mind that there will be the third wave,” said Abhijit Bangar, the municipal commissioner while interacting with citizens on social media platforms.