COVID-19: Mumbaikars buying self-test kits must submit Aadhar cards to chemists

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Saturday said that citizens purchasing self-test kits will be required to provide their Aadhar cards to chemists in order to maintain a record. "We have decided that everyone purchasing self-test kits will have to provide their Aadhar cards to the chemists to maintain a record. If anyone tests positive they must inform the authorities and update this online," she told news agency ANI. Expressing concern over the non-reporting of the coronavirus positive cases diagnosed using self-testing kits by people, the Maharashtra health department, earlier wrote to the district and civic officials to monitor the sale of such kits and ensure that patients report about their infection to the authorities.

Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of the state public health department, gave these directions to all the municipal and divisional commissioners, district collectors and chief executive officers of zilla parishads (ZPs) in a letter written on Wednesday. In the letter, he also asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sensitise chemists and pharmacists so that they can educate customers buying these COVID-19 self-testing kits to report about their infection to the authorities. "It is expected that all COVID-19 positive tests conducted through rapid antigen test kits or home test kits are reported to the authorities. But it seems that there is a large number of coronavirus positive cases diagnosed through these kits that have not been reported to the authorities concerned and such persons appear to be in home isolation," he said in the letter.