Puducherry, Sep 5 (PTI): The Puducherry government on Saturday launched door to door testing of COVID-19 samples in a bid to check the spike in fresh infections in the Union Territory.

"Puducherry is witnessing an increase in number of cases of coronavirus infection. We will zero in more positive cases through door to door testing of samples.

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Such a system of testing would help identify the actual number of pandemic stricken patients, particularly in areas which were reporting highest number of positive cases," Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said.

The Union Territory on Saturday reported 408 fresh cases and 18 deaths, taking the tally to 16,566 and the toll to 298.

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The minister, addressing a virtual meet after inaugurating such tests in neighbouring Kurunji Nagar and Lawspet blocks, said about 1,500 samples were being tested on an average daily and this number would double with the door to door tests being carried out.

He said he had personally seen the relatively better outcome of such visits, where around 45 people from 25 homes had responded positively to the exercise after being told about why they were being done in this manner

Rao said if camps were held at sub-centres and also in Covid hospitals, only those in the vicinity of the facilities would turn up while others would stay away.

The minister said such door to door visits would be done in all the outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)