TS’ Covid positivity rate rises to 18%

HYDERABAD:  Four days of extensive testing in Telangana has exposed 20.42 per cent of all the Covid-19 cases recorded in the State so far, which translates to 1,333 cases of the total 6,526 cases. The sharp rise in cases can be attributed to the State government’s decision to ramp up testing. In the last four days, from June 15 to June 19, the State has conducted 7,389 tests.

These tests contribute for 14.6 per cent of all the 50,569 tests conducted till June 19. The test positivity rate in the last four days is at 18.05 per cent, which is much higher than what the State has seen before. Prior to the mass testing that began on June 15, the State had a test positivity rate of 12 per cent.

Experts note that with increased testing, ideally, the test positivity rate should have gone lower. However, with the testing rates, which were abysmally low before, the spike is expected. “For the next 10-15 days, a spike is very likely to continue because there was an underutilisation of testing capacity and cases were not being detected. If test continue at this rate, a plateau will be seen in 10-15 days,” said a public health expert, on the condition of anonymity. He added that the State must now focus on ensuring that the patients stay home, so that the disease doesn’t spread further.