Ranchi Covid positivity rate jumps by 12% in one week

RANCHI: As the number of active Covid-19 cases in the state has crossed 600, the situation in the capital city is alarming with the positivity rate skyrocketing from 10.68% to 23.02% in the last seven days.
The positivity rate of the state, too, has increased from 0.89% to 1.58%. However, the experts felt that the number of cases is fewer due to the slow rate of testing and the new infections will come up in thousands if the testing rate is increased.
As per state health department records, the number of positive cases in Ranchi was 22 out of 206 samples tested on July 2 and has increased to 58 out of 252 samples tested on July 8, leading to a positivity rate of 10.68% and 23.02% respectively.
Though the state’s positivity rate remained way below that of Ranchi, it has also increased from July 2 to July 8. The department records said 62 samples out of 6,913 tested positive on July 2 while it increased to 132 of the 8,329 samples tested on July 8.
The infection rate has also picked up within a month and on being compared with the data issued by the department, a total of 36 cases were reported during the first week of June and has increased to 456 in the first week of July recording an increase of more than 12 times.
Public health expert and professor of community medicine Dr Devesh Kumar said that the increase in the infection rate within a month itself is a sign of the fourth wave. “If we test more people, any undetected case will come to the fore. People are getting infected as they are now lenient thinking that the pandemic is over. However, it hasn’t and people should continue to follow appropriate Covid behaviour.”
On being asked about the rapid increase in Ranchi’s positivity rate, Dr Kumar said if the other districts, too, start improving their testing rates, they will record a similar rise in cases. “We need to test more people as the infection has already spread and if we do not test them, we will never be able to identify the infection spread,” he added.
The previous positivity rates in Ranchi had also outnumbered the rest of the state. “We had reported 5.34%, 4.09% and 6.98% as the highest positivity rate of the state during the first, second and third waves respectively. Ranchi had reported a very high positivity rate of 30% during the first wave, 46% during the second wave and 28% during the third wave,” state entomologist Praveen Karn said.