Aadhaar Cards Compulsory For Buying Self-Test Kits: Mumbai Mayor

On Saturday, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar announced that those purchasing self-testing kits for COVID-19 from chemists have to present Aadhar Card to maintain a record. Additionally, she stated that those who test positive have to inform the city authorities to take necessary measures.

As India sees a rise in daily COVID-19 cases, people are resorting to buying at-home Antigen tests that give the results quickly. However, questions are being raised about its accuracy by several health officials around the country.

Mandatory To Share Reports

Kishori Pednekar spoke to the media on Saturday regarding the critical development. "We have decided that everyone purchasing self-test kits will have to provide their Aadhar Cards to the chemists to maintain the record," quotes NDTV. Over 1,60,000 people used the COVID-19 self-test kit until Friday, out of which 3549 tested positive.

On the same day, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation asked the city-dwellers to share their results with the city authorities and update the same on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) website, irrespective of whether it is positive or negative. The ICMR has approved a total of seven self-test kits. The Mumbaikars are regularly taking around 3,00,000 to 3,50,000, and however, most of them go unreported.

In light of this, the BMC decided to take necessary action. The civic body's public health in charge, Suresh Kakani, told Hindustan Times, "At the back of every test-kit, there is a QR code that directs the user to the ICMR website where they need to upload the results along with their credentials. Most of them were not following it until now, which is why we have brought these new guidelines to check that these cases are not unreported anymore."

Rising COVID-19 Cases

Maharashtra is at the top with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India, with Mumbai logging 10,661 points on Saturday with 11 deaths. The South states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu follow closely with the country's bulk of cases.

As reported by The Indian Express, India reports 2,71,202 cases slightly higher than the Saturday count, with 7743 Omicron cases being detected in the country. Around 314 casualties have also been reported due to the infectious virus. However, the health ministry states that the positivity rate has marginally decreased from 16.66% to 16.28%

Also Read: Pune District Launches 'Covid Free Village' Contest To Curb Omicron Spread, Winner To Get Rs 50 Lakh