Random sampling to be carried out in Rajasthan to check spread of COVID-19: Minister

Jaipur, Apr 2 (PTI) Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Thursday said random sampling of people will be carried out in the state under the sero-surveillance system to check the spread of COVID-19.

In sero-surveillance there is monitoring of the presence or absence of specific substances in the blood serum of a population.

The minister said random sampling will be done through rapid testing kits approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

He said this decision was taken after a discussion with senior doctors and epidemiologists through video conferencing.

The experts suggested random sampling to contain the spread of coronavirus, Sharma said.

The minister informed that till now more than 27,000 medical teams have surveyed 98.57 lakh families in the state and screened 4.16 crore people.

In OPDs of hospitals, 33.28 lakh persons have been screened, Sharma added.

Besides, more than 2,000 persons who came in contact with all 133 COVID-19 positive cases in the state have also been screened, the minister said. PTI SDA AD