On a day that saw India post its highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 4,213, the number of daily tests saw its sharpest decline by about 21,000.
On Monday, the Indian Council of Medical Research reported 64,651 tests on Sunday, according to data available on the website of the National Institute of Epidemiology, an ICMR institute.
The previous day it had reported 85,824 tests. Since May 4, the organisation has consistently reported over 80,000 tests a day.
This is the first time that the daily test data has declined by nearly a quarter from the previous day and by over 20,000.
An ICMR spokesperson attributed it to a weekend lull. “Even though there are nearly 400 laboratories working double shifts, sometimes more, it does happen that Saturdays and Sundays see a drop in collection [of samples],” L.K. Sharma, Scientist, ICMR, and media relations in-charge, told The Hindu. “It will rise as the week progresses.”
Exactly a week ago, on May 4, the ICMR reported having tested 60,783 samples, a sharp fall from the 70,087 the previous day. As of May 11, the ICMR had reportedly tested 1.6 million samples, making India the seventh largest tester in the world. However, as a fraction of population tested, India occupies the lowest position in the world. Every day, the ICMR reports the cumulative number of samples tested without a break up of how many tested positive and negative.
Last week, the ICMR slightly eased up on its testing criteria. As of May 8, those with ‘mild’ or moderate symptoms can — provide they confirm to certain clinical criteria — be discharged without a negative RT-PCR test. An RT-PCR test is the recommended test that detects the virus and used to diagnose a person as positive.
On May 9, the ICMR announced that it was ready with a ELISA-antibody test. This lab-based test can check for the presence of antibodies that are generated 9-14 days after a person has been infected with the virus. While it isn’t prescribed as a diagnostic to confirm infection, they are a cheaper, cruder and quicker way to gauge a person’s exposure (or lack of it) to SARS CoV-2.
While there are several companies that provide RT-PCR testing, they rely on foreign collaboration and are dependent on imports of chemicals, which are subject to demand-supply constraints.