COVID: Karnataka to soon reach goal of 1 lakh tests per day says Sudhakar

Bengaluru: Karnataka will soon reach its goal of conducting one lakh COVID-19 tests per day as it has increased the number of labs and the tests done, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said here on Saturday. “From one testing lab for COVID-19 test, we have opened 108 labs in six months.

From 300 tests per day, we have increased it to 75,000. This will soon reach the goal of one lakh tests per day,”Sudhakar was quoted as saying in a release by his office.

He said the state government has shown its commitment to contain the pandemic and has been successful. The Minister was speaking after inaugurating the MVJ Molecular Lab at MVJ Medical College & Research Hospital at nearby Hoskote Stating that COVID-19 can be prevented completely only with the use of a vaccine, he said the death rate in the state was about 1.65 per cent and the aim is to bring it down to less than one per cent.

As of September 4 evening, cumulatively 3,79,486 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 6,170 deaths and 2,74,196 discharges. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 1,41,664 infections.

A total of 31,97,110 samples have been tested so far, out of which 73,192 were tested on Friday alone, and among them 31,641 were rapid antigen tests. Stressing the need to improve the quality of the medical education system in Karnataka and also bring about change, Sudhakar said a study of the medical education system in developed nations must be carried out and measures that aid the system here has to be incorporated to make this possible,.

“A decision will be taken in this regard,” he added. The Minister noted that molecular test labs should be opened in government medical colleges and asked the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences to look into it.

He said medical universities must collaborate with international medical colleges to send medical students from the states clinical expos and added that this was necessary to provide exposure to newer findings in the field of medicine. “The state government had planned to launch an initiative this year, but it could not be carried out due to Covid pandemic.

However, it will be planned next year,” he added.