<p>When the numbers of COVID-19 cases reported from various states are leaping, the number of tests for the disease are not increasing proportionally. India has ranked low among countries hit by the disease in terms of the number of tests done per million from the early days of its spread and it continues to be so. This is despite the claims made by the Central and state governments that testing and disease surveillance would be ramped up. Over 45 lakh tests have been done in the country till now. But tests per 1,000 people are only 0.08 in India compared with 1.16 in the United States and 1.02 in Italy. Mumbai, the most affected city, conducts only 4,000 tests per day, and Delhi over 8,000 tests. Both cities have not significantly increased the test numbers in the past few weeks. They account for about 30% of the cases in the country but do only 5% of the testing. </p>.<p>Over one lakh tests are now carried out in the country per day, but many experts think that it must be increased 10 times in the next few weeks to get a clear idea of the incidence of the disease and to take appropriate steps to counter it. </p>.<p>All states seem to be reluctant to increase testing. This is strange and even counter-productive.</p>.<p>The intention seems to be to slow down testing so that the official number of cases is low. When more tests are done, there will be more positive cases which need to be admitted and taken care of. This is probably dissuading the states from conducting enough number of tests. But the norm is that tests should be increased when cases pick up. </p>.<p>Though the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued guidelines on testing, different states are implementing them differently. The Delhi government has decided that asymptomatic direct contacts of infected people will be tested only if they are in the high-risk categories. This is wrong because asymptomatic people are also carriers of disease, accounting for about 30% of the transmission. There are other constraining conditions in other states. By not testing enough, the infection can only be hidden, and the incidence of the disease postponed, but by then it would be transmitted to many others. Testing not only helps provide early treatment to infected persons but also gives a better picture of the spread of the disease so that governments can tailor their strategies to deal with it.</p>
<p>When the numbers of COVID-19 cases reported from various states are leaping, the number of tests for the disease are not increasing proportionally. India has ranked low among countries hit by the disease in terms of the number of tests done per million from the early days of its spread and it continues to be so. This is despite the claims made by the Central and state governments that testing and disease surveillance would be ramped up. Over 45 lakh tests have been done in the country till now. But tests per 1,000 people are only 0.08 in India compared with 1.16 in the United States and 1.02 in Italy. Mumbai, the most affected city, conducts only 4,000 tests per day, and Delhi over 8,000 tests. Both cities have not significantly increased the test numbers in the past few weeks. They account for about 30% of the cases in the country but do only 5% of the testing. </p>.<p>Over one lakh tests are now carried out in the country per day, but many experts think that it must be increased 10 times in the next few weeks to get a clear idea of the incidence of the disease and to take appropriate steps to counter it. </p>.<p>All states seem to be reluctant to increase testing. This is strange and even counter-productive.</p>.<p>The intention seems to be to slow down testing so that the official number of cases is low. When more tests are done, there will be more positive cases which need to be admitted and taken care of. This is probably dissuading the states from conducting enough number of tests. But the norm is that tests should be increased when cases pick up. </p>.<p>Though the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued guidelines on testing, different states are implementing them differently. The Delhi government has decided that asymptomatic direct contacts of infected people will be tested only if they are in the high-risk categories. This is wrong because asymptomatic people are also carriers of disease, accounting for about 30% of the transmission. There are other constraining conditions in other states. By not testing enough, the infection can only be hidden, and the incidence of the disease postponed, but by then it would be transmitted to many others. Testing not only helps provide early treatment to infected persons but also gives a better picture of the spread of the disease so that governments can tailor their strategies to deal with it.</p>
