Devendra Fadnavis bats for RT-PCR tests over antigen tests

Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the state should use its full capacity for RT-PCR testing to detect COVID cases, and opposed the dominance of antigen tests in the total number of tests conducted. He said the state's COVID-19 prevention strategy must be scientific and not based on "mere data management or data suppression".

The former chief minister tweeted, "Out of total 78,711 COVID19 tests done on August six, 50,421 were antigen tests (64%) & only 27,440 were RT-PCR (34%) 850 tests using other methods. This ratio has to be 1:1 & not 1:2."

"Due to 65 per cent failure rate of antigen testing, RT-PCR is only considered as golden method for testing," he said further in the tweet.

"Maharashtra has 54,000-plus RT-PCR (Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing capacity and we must utilise it to the full extent. Our COVID-19 prevention strategy needs a more scientific approach rather than mere data management or data suppression," the leader of opposition in the Assembly said.

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