Delhi’s positivity rate falls, Telangana and Maharashtra on top

NEW DELHI: From being among the top states in terms of incidence of coronavirus cases, Delhi’s positivity rate, or total confirmed cases per 100 tests, in the past two weeks has come down by 45% and the state is in third position, behind Telangana and Maharashtra, raising hopes that the outbreak in the capital may begin to taper off. Much of it has been possible with Delhi tripling the total number of tests.
Delhi’s positivity rate between June 19 and July 2 (a 14-day period as per WHO is a yardstick to judge progress in Covid-19 control) came down to 16.4% from a high of 29.7% during the June 5-18 period. Telangana took top spot at 25% — more than double the positivity rate recorded in the previous fortnight — ahead of Maharashtra at 22% and Tamil Nadu and Gujarat at 11% each.
Overall, the consolidated all-India positivity rate of all states together has risen to a worrisome 8.63% during this period as compared to 7.77% in the previous fortnight and 7.4% the fortnight before. The high incidence states are making their presence felt.
A high positivity rate can be indicative of a state not testing enough and only testing the sickest. Extensive tracing and testing are key to containment of the pandemic, restricting it from spreading to a larger population. Also, lower positivity can lead to lower fatality as cases are detected at an early stage and adequate measures can be adopted in time.
Among the top 10 states that have seen the pandemic spreading faster with positivity rate of 5% and above during the last 14 days include Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana (8%), Karnataka (6%), West Bengal (5%) and Odisha (5%).
Delhi has been aided by higher testing. Between June 5-8, the state conducted 79,000 tests which increased to 2.38 lakh during the fortnight between June 19 and July 2. This has also resulted in the positivity rate coming down.
Maharashtra has almost maintained its positivity rate, though at a high of 21%-22% over the last three fortnights. This is reason for some satisfaction as the incidence of the disease is not rising. Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal are on an upward trajectory since May 19, but Haryana and Uttarakhand among the top 10 have shown a downward trend during the last three fortnights.