Amid a steady rise in Covid-19 infections across the country, health officials are raising a fresh concern. Over 5 lakh self-testing kits have been sold by one company alone in the financial capital in the past week. The rising numbers of self-testing during the Omicron surge is raising fears of undercounting.
Mumbai on Saturday reported 20,318 new coronavirus infections, a little less than the day before, and five deaths. The city now has more than one lakh active cases, while the caseload in the country’s financial capital rose to 8,95,098, and the death toll mounted to 16,399. On Friday, Mumbai had reported 20,971 new cases and six deaths.
Why are People Opting for Rapid Tests than RT-PCR?
Self-testing appears to have become the mainstay of Covid-19 diagnosis in the city overnight. A Times of India (TOI) report stated that several doctors are recommending rapid testing as well as RT-PCR appointments and results on an average are taking between 48-72 hours. Given the limited disease span of Omicron, the wait for an RT-PCR report is almost futile. An expert on the matter highlighted that a positive at-home test allows a person to isolate faster and begin treatment as soon as possible.
How many kits have been sold amid Omicron surge?
Mylab Discovery Solutions that manufactures ‘CoviSelf’ told TOI they have sold five lakh kits between January 1 and 7 in Mumbai alone. The cost per rapid testing kit is Rs 250 and the company that sells the kit for Rs 250 had wholesaled 25,000 units in the last week of December when cases had just begun to surge.
Is similar trend being noted in other states?
Along with Mumbai, Covid infections in the national capital are rising unabated. The same company which was selling in Mumbai, reportedly, sold around 2.5 lakh kits in Delhi in January. Hasmukh Rawal, the founder of the Pune-based company, told TOI that they have witnessed a 500% jump in sales in a week.
Other companies which manufacture similar testing kits have also noticed similar trends in places where cases are rising rapidly. The other self-test kits players- Abbott that manufacturers Panbio and Meril that makes CoviFind-have witnessed big jumps in sales. , although they didn’t divulge sales figures. Sanjeev Bhatt, the senior vice-president, Meril, said they have observed a 50% week-on-week increase in demand. The company claims to have the capacity to make 20 million kits per month.
Does this mean the actual numbers are much higher?
While the rapid test manufacturers are happy with surging sales, the health authorities of these metros have raised a concern that several cases are going under the radar. A civic official told TOI they only receive an average of 2,700-3,000 notifications of self-testing in a day, of which 250-300 are positive results. “People should have a sense of responsibility to log results in the application. We have no other way to find out,” said the official.
Along with RT-PCR testing results, the Mumbai civic body has also maintained separate data for rapid testing. In August, 89,326 results were communicated by users. Acknowledging the trend, reportedly, local chemists store owners have stated that they are procuring boxes of thousand kits which are getting sold out in a day, and the demand is maximum in the south and central Mumbai.
The city has been clocking more than 70,000 tests daily, the majority being RT-PCR and we are not overly worried about home tests, we assume people will be responsible enough to declare results and isolate themselves when positive,” AMC Suresh Kakani told the TOI. However, as per Covid protocol, hospital admissions need a positive RT-PCR test report.
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