COVID-19: Govt May Soon Order Anyone Visiting Hospitals With Flu-Like Symptoms To Be Tested

New Delhi: The Union government may soon order all patients who visit hospitals with flu-like symptoms to be screened and tested for novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Indian Express quoted a government source as saying that testing all patients with flu-like samples won’t just generate random sampling data for coronavirus but also mean that if patients clear testing, doctors, nurses and others attending to them may not need full personal protective equipment (PPE) gear.

There is a shortage of PPEs in hospitals, not only in India but in other countries hit hard by the global pandemic as well.

“We are looking at opportunistic screening of all patients who come to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, even if they have come to seek medical attention for some other disease. Starting from there, we will gradually expand to mass testing, initially in the hotspots and cluster containment zones,” the source was quoted as saying.

Screening and mass testing had been on the anvil for some weeks. But shortage of testing kits came in the way. Now that the government has acquired over 10 lakh testing kits, it can be implemented.