'Covid-19: Are we testing enough? Here's how India fares versus others'

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Sukla Sen

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Apr 10, 2020, 5:27:31 AM4/10/20

to foil-l, Say NO 2 UID Core Group

[As on April 8, India has tested 0.04 person per 10 thousand.
South Korea: 0.6.
Germany: 7.7.
Spain: 18.3.
(Ref.: The report reproduced below.)

Testing, identification, isolation, appropriate levels of treatment are the key elements in the fight.
Together with social distancing, suitable PPEs, good hygiene and nutritious food.

India is, as it appears, doing miserably in terms of all the parameters.
That's why "Tali", "Thali", "Diya".
That's why "Corona Jihad".
(In fact, the "Corona Jihad" is not a mere diversionary tactic - the unfolding "crisis" has been seized as an additional (golden) opportunity to polarise the society in order to accelerate the journey towards a "Hindu Rashtra" - denuded of all vestiges of substantive democracy and pluralism.
Ref., e.g..: <https://indiafightscoronaasone.blogspot.com/2020/04/collection-of-islamophobic-fake-news.html?fbclid=IwAR3q6-LNjj8npte3dGdWdKZIM1O_dyYj9i3-5lsZ4gvoeYYqQ4VXnsi-Eyw> and <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwHMjqkvhjgrLTTmWVSQnrBWGCQ>.)

If India still escapes a disaster - in terms of lives lost in the immediate term, it'd be because of some, as yet, scarcely known and understood factor(s).

In the meanwhile, an ICMR study, published just yesterday - April 9th, on the basis of analysis of "5,911 samples taken from patients with severe acute respiratory infections in 52 districts in 21 states and Union Territories between February 15 to April 2", has found that of the 104 positive samples, at least, 39.2% have no "travel or contact history".
For as many as 58.7% of the cases, this information is unavailable.
(Ref.: <https://scroll.in/latest/958774/covid-19-respiratory-illness-patients-without-travel-or-contact-history-test-positive-in-icmr-study?fbclid=IwAR2gZHIhk_kIHY0AmtsZZr-ALCVuY1un9dkoiBL-KdhA0Qn_glnPvruz6sk>.)
That should strongly suggest that despite the persistent denial by the ICMR, till now, "community transmission" is already under way.

On top of that, a very disturbing report has emanated from South Korea to the effect that about 51 patients classed as having been cured have tested positive again.
(Ref.: <https://fortune.com/2020/04/09/coronavirus-reinfection-fears-grow-cured-patients-test-positive-reactivated-virus/?fbclid=IwAR14x-3nBx6BvmWdIPgGq2g2zOKMyXfNzBXCMB6076zI8X9u2mbgOO0HqgY>.)
Though the report above does not talk of it, on the face it, multiple cases of "reinfection" would seriously undermine the (considerable) hope anchored in the likelihood of development of "herd immunity", on its own, after a large number of people having been infected.]

https://www.business-standard.com/article/health/covid-19-are-we-testing-enough-here-s-how-india-fares-versus-others-120040901595_1.html?fbclid=IwAR0pTwbDuKVjitxwxEJIvyptgxyV5SEMznV7BNQ4XH2TDUga8NMY3DltdlY

Covid-19: Are we testing enough? Here's how India fares versus others

A look at how India compares with other countries in confirmed coronavirus cases as a proportion of tests carried out

Jyotindra Dubey | New Delhi Last Updated at April 9, 2020 20:40 IST

The number of tests conducted by India is lower than other countries on a per-capita-ratio basis. With a population of around 1.38 billion, India’s Covid-19 tests per 10,000 population has been merely 0.04

The global tally of Covid-19-positive cases now stands at over 1.5 million, and the number of fatalities is nearly 83,000. With countries upping their testing capabilities to stem a surge in coronavirus infections, more than 11 million tests have been conducted across the globe so far.

India has conducted around 160,000 tests (as on April 8), according to ICMR data. And the country’s tally of positive cases stands at 6,237 (at 6 pm on April 9) – implying 3.8 per cent of the tests yielded positive results for coronavirus.

The US, by comparison, has conducted 2.2 million tests – the most among all countries – and seen a fifth of all those tests throwing up positive results.

Among other countries that have been hit badly by the pandemic, the ratio of infections to tests conducted is the highest in Iran. Its tally of positive cases currently stands at over 64,000, which is 31 per cent of the 200,000 Covid-19 tests it has conducted.

Iran is followed by Belgium and France. In Belgium, around 26 per cent of all who were tested turned out to be infected. France had conducted over 200,000 tests as on April 2 (the latest available data), and it had 59,000 confirmed cases – a ratio of 26.4 per cent.

Germany, which is among the countries with very high numbers for Covid-19 tests conducted, had seen only 5.6 per cent of the samples yielding positive results as on April 1 (the latest available data on tests conducted by that country).

For Spain, the ratio stands at 7.2 per cent, with 300,000 tests and around 25,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases as on March 21. Spain’s current tally of cases is 150,000, but it has not reported the number of tests conducted since March 21.

Tests per capita

The number of tests conducted by India is lower than other countries on a per-capita-ratio basis. With a population of around 1.38 billion, India’s Covid-19 tests per 10,000 population has been merely 0.04.

Spain has the highest number of tests per capita among top-10 countries by tests conducted – 18.3 per 10,000 population. It is followed by Italy, with 15.8 tests per 10,000 population. The per-capita test ratios for both Germany and the UK stand at around eight per 10,000 population.

The US tops the charts with most number of tests carried out, but it stands much lower in per-capita testing ratio – 1.2 tests per 10,000 people. South Korea and Russia both fare even worse than the US, each with a ratio of 0.6 tests per 10,000 population. The case tally for both countries currently stands at over 10,000, even as they have flattened their growth rates for new cases.