Bengaluru, Jul 18 (IANS): Mobile rapid antigen testing vehicles have been set in motion in the city for quick detection of Covid cases, said an official on Saturday.

"To detect cases quickly, rapid antigen test kits in vans have been launched," said an official.

The testing vans will now enable symptomatic primary contacts, senior citizens and people with comorbidities to contact them via helplines to reach their doorstep for a Covid test.

If the throat and nasal swabs test negative, they will be sent to the nearest RT-PCR testing facility for further determination.

One mobile testing facility with a team of three people will be on standby in each of the city's zones to attend to symptomatic cases.

The testing team will disembark from the van to set up a table to draw the swabs for antigen testing, which takes at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, a rapid antigen testing drive was launched in the city on Friday with 150 volunteers who are microbiology graduates to collect swabs from the virus hotspots, densely populated places and containment zones.

More than 200 cabs were hired for the testing drive to ferry health workers to identify people with Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).

The government is also seeking a number of volunteers with a background of science education to strengthen Covid containment efforts.

Being the epicentre of the pandemic in the southern state, the number of active cases it hosts rose to 62 per cent.

On Friday, the city reported 2,208 Covid positive cases, increasing its tally to 27,496, out of which 20,623 are active.