Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 10 Apr: With the second wave of Covid-19 sweeping across the country, the state’s health department is racing against time to vaccinate all people in the vulnerable age groups in the state.
The government’s Covid-19 ‘vaccination utsav’ will begin on Sunday at different locations in the Itanagar capital region, including TRIHMS, the RK Mission Hospital, the Itafort health centre, the Chimpu PHC, Karsingsa, etc.
Meanwhile, with active Covid-19 cases increasing daily, there is report that the number of RT-PCR tests being carried out in the state is decreasing.
Sources claimed that the number of RT-PCR tests has gone down significantly due to the exorbitant price for the test. The department charges Rs 1,000 for a test, which, according to a source, is unaffordable for the common people.
When contacted by this daily, Health Secretary P Parthiban on Saturday said the department is continuing with the RT-PCR tests. “We are still doing it. We do approximately 50 samples a day,” he said.
On being asked about the price for the test, Parthiban said that the price of RT-PCR tests will be reviewed soon and decreased in the coming days.
The secretary had on 3 April said that there was a public demand to reduce the RT-PCR and TrueNat tests, and that the department had also proposed the same to the state government.
He had said that the government would announce the new reduced rates. However, so far no revised rates for RT-PCR and TrueNat tests have been announced.
Parthiban added that the state government has initiated steps to check a possible second wave of infection in the state by equipping Covid-19 staffers and making sure that there are enough oxygen cylinders available at the hospitals.
