J&K: Every 5th person tested on RT-PCR for Covid found positive

Every fifth person tested for Covid-19 on RT-PCR in Jammu and Kashmir is returning positive in the first nine days of this month, official figures reveal.

However, when the tests are carried out both on RT-PCR equipment as well as Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits, the positivity rate drops to roughly 11 per cent. At the beginning of this year every 70th person was testing positive for the Covid-19.

Due to a huge surge in cases, a lockdown was imposed in J&K on April 29 which has been extended till May 17, as the government tries to stem the spread of Covid-19 infections. The healthcare infrastructure in the UT has been overwhelmed due to the exponential increase in the Covid cases.

In the past nine days, the number of admitted patients has jumped from 878 to 3,009. The active cases have also increased from 28,359 to 49,248.

According to official data, in the first nine days of this month, 384480 Covid-19 tests were carried out in the UT and of these, 40,849 samples were found positive for SARS-CoV2. The positive percentage of these samples, taken from across the 20 districts of the UT, is roughly 11 per cent.

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The tests, as per the data, are carried out both on RT-PCR equipment as well as Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) Kits. However, when data from RT-PCR conducting labs is analyzed, the positive percentage jumps to over 20 per cent.

As per figures of Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, on May 9 out of 1,492 samples 342 were found positive. A day before, 255 out of 1,183 were positive while on 7 May, 302 out 1,692 tested positive. By these numbers, at least every 5th person whose sample is tested on RT PCR is found infected with Covid-19.

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A senior medico at tertiary-care SKIMS hospital in Srinagar said a similar trend had been seen with the samples being tested at that lab. He, however, could not share the figures.

“At times, we find that every third person tested is infected with Covid-19,” he said and added it was a stark contrast to the positive percentage seen at the beginning of the year or even in April.

However, a senior health official said that much of the sampling now is targeted compared to the beginning of the year which could be one of the reasons for the huge surge in positivity rate.

“Decreased random sampling was being carried out earlier,” he said.

The virus has been more fatal now than any time before during the pandemic. As per official figures, 443 people have already lost lives in the five days May, twice the number of the entire month of April.