India conducts 3 crores Cvoid tests

• Set to touch 10 lakh tests a day mark
• Positivity rate coming down

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

New Delhi, Aug 16

India achieved a new milestone by conducting 3 crores coronavirus tests today. It touched 2.93 crores tests yesterday and with more than 7 lakh tests conducted till the time of going to the press, a new record has been set. India ramped up testing during the 15 days with a lightning speed that it could touch the three crore mark from two crores. Earlier, it took a month to touch the two crore mark. (see the table).

India is all set to make a record shortly when it will conduct 10 lakh coronavirus tests per day. It achieved a record 8.69 lakhs tests yesterday and if official sources are to be believed, the number will now touch 10 lakh tests a day mark anytime.

The Prime Minister had given the target to the ICMR to conduct 10 lakh tests per day on August 1. There was a time when India was testing less than 300 tests per day in March and touched the mind-boggling figure of 10 lakhs a day.

India conducts 3 crores Cvoid tests

The laboratories conducting Covid tests rose from 3 to 1500 in five months. Maharashtra alone has 144 labs including 67 in the private sector. 

The PM wanted states to undertake more tests so that the clear scenario could emerge and states ramped up testing on a large scale. The most heartening aspect is that the positivity rate of India has started coming down from 9.5% to 8.8% on August 15. Similarly, Maharashtra’s positivity rate came down from 20.2% on July 31 to 18.8% on August 15.

Official sources say that Covid cases are rising in the country rapidly. But this is largely due to very high testing and cases are coming down in percentage terms.