Covid-19 case count falls, so do testing numbers | Economic Times

India’s daily Covid case count has fallen from a peak of 402,000 on Friday, but experts have cautioned against complacency, saying lower testing could have contributed to the decline.Covid tests dropped from 1.95 million last Friday to 1.66 million on Monday. Expectedly, daily case count rose to over 362,000 on Tuesday (without Delhi numbers) from 357,000 on Monday as tests increased in key states from the weekend lows.The ministry of health had said on Monday that 13 states and UTs show early signs that Covid-19 cases are plateauing. These include Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.82397335Barring Uttar Pradesh, testing numbers declined in most high caseload states between April 28 and May 3 (Monday).Delhi conducted 81,829 tests on April 28, 61,045 on May 3. In tandem, the total number of daily cases dropped from 25,986 to 18,043.Maharashtra conducted 241,000 tests on Tuesday against 212,000 on Monday.In the case of Kerala, the state with second highest Covid cases behind Maharashtra, tests increased to 143,000 on Tuesday from 96,300 on Monday. The state reported 37,190 Covid cases on Tuesday, a sharp rise from 26,011 cases the previous day.Maharashtra Covid cases rose to 51,880 on Tuesday from 48,621 a day earlier.At least eight states including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Punjab reported highest ever daily cases on Tuesday.The positivity rate has been at a high 29-32% in Delhi over the past week. Nationally, too, the positivity rate has risen–the seven-day moving average has climbed from 20.44% to 21.46% over the week to Monday, suggesting that the country needs to test more.A similar trend is seen in other high caseload states of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Telangana.In Gujarat, the testing numbers declined from 174,000 on April 28 to 132,000 on May 3. Covid-19 cases have also seen a similar decline over this period from 14,352 to 12,978. The state reported 13,050 cases on TuesdayTelangana tested 70,961 on May 3 against 82,270 samples on April 27. Chhattisgarh tested 59,402 samples on April 28, which rose to 60,863 mid-week but dropped to 58,493 on May 3.Uttarakhand tested 44,774 on April 28, 38,174 on May 3. Like other states, the cases reported declined from 6,054 to 5,403 in the period. Cases rose to 7,028 on Tuesday.Experts also pointed out that the states don’t often reveal what kind of tests are being done.“States seldom give out data on the proportion of RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing,” NatHealth president Harsh Mahajan told ET. “We need to see positivity rates of both these tests before we can even say that the cases are declining.”It’s too early to become complacent, experts said, urging more tests to help identify and isolate infected people to prevent the Covid spread.“This is not the time to get complacent--the second wave is far from over,” said Ameera Shah, managing director, Metropolis Healthcare. “It has not peaked in most states – UP, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan. We have to be very vigilant and only increase our tests.”Mahajan emphasised the importance of broad testing.