In fight against Covid, increased testing and better infra critical

GEARING UP FOR BATTLE The testing value chain is complex and has several bottlenecks, which must be eased

nNewdelhi:diagnostic testing for Covid-19 has been the topic du jour in India – from government offices to boardrooms to online chatrooms. Debates range from whether we are doing enough testing to whether we are testing the right people. Continuous media coverage on availability of test kits, quality of the kits and effectiveness of testing protocols has often led to confusion on how to expand testing capacity.

It is now well accepted that we are in a marathon fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. India has been in a nationwide lockdown since March 25 that has been extended twice -- to May 17 -- with some relaxations in restrictions. This was essential and welltimed -- helping reduce the spread of the disease (the doubling rate of cases, 3.4 days prior to the lockdown, is 11 days currently) and providing time to ramp up the healthcare infrastructure. However, in this battle between lives and livelihoods, we cannot ignore the crippling impact the lockdown has had on India’s economy. Already the unemployment rate has risen to 23%, from 8.4 % in mid-march.

Diagnostic testing is an important weapon in this fight. It helps to identify infected individuals and treat them; also it helps in breaking the chain of transmission and supports decision making on easing restrictions. Countries like South Korea have already shown how large-scale testing can control the disease without resorting to a nationwide lockdown.

EXHIBIT 1

Daily tests 4%

Apr 5 4.50%

Apr 12

EXHIBIT 2 10 8 6

4 3%

2

0

0

Quadrant 1

Quadrant 3

EXHIBIT 3

Positive rate

Apr 19

Apr 26

West Bengal 3.80%

May 3

Asia Africa North America

Telangana

INDIA

No. of confirmed cases per million people

Madhya Pradesh

Central & South America Europe

Uttar Pradesh

UAE Russia

S. Korea S. Africa

Japan

Iceland

Italy Spain USA France Germany

Punjab

Quadrant 4

Bihar

Jharkhand

Meghalaya

Mizoram Nagaland Assam Chhattisgarh AP Uttarakhand

200 600 800 750

TESTS PER MILLION

Karnataka Kerala

Odisha HP

INDIA

South Korea

Italy

Tripura 1,200 10 26

J&K

TN Andhra Pradesh Puducherry

Rajasthan Haryana

Tests/confirmed cases