Kerala testing rate poor: Health experts
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala, which was the first state in India to report a Covid-19 case in January, has been praised for high recovery and low mortality rates related to the pandemic even as many experts say its testing rate is poor and needs to be ramped up before caseloads shoot up.
The state has done only 58,200 tests in four months and ranks very low in terms of total testing, they said citing official statistics. “It’s a fact the state’s test records are very low. It seems it failed to heed periodic warning of experts,” said senior physician and health activist Sreejith N Kumar.
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have conducted 2, 28, 914 and 4,12, 714 tests until May 27 since reporting their first cases in early March, according to the Union health ministry statistics..
The Indian Medical Association (IMA)’S Kerala chapter on Tuesday wrote a letter to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and urged him to increase the testing or else the state will have to pay a heavy price. “To get a clear picture, at least 100 tests per lakh [100,000] population will have to be done. Other states are way ahead in testing. Testing facilities should be allowed in the private sector also,” the letter said, a copy of which HT has seen. It added the government was not sharing information with IMA though it has pledged full support to it.
As criticism mounted, Vijayan on Wednesday said, “We have decided to increase the number. By this weekend, we hope we can do at least 3000 tests daily.” On Wednesday, 1,400 tests were conducted. The average rate of testing nationally is 539 tests per million and the country is ranked 52nd among countries in terms of the testing rates.
But experts said the number is still too little as the caseload has increased in the last few days with the easing of travel restrictions and the return of expatriates. “We have been telling the government [over the] last two months about the need to increase tests. The state is precariously poised if it did not increase its numbers,” said IMA state president Dr Abraham Verghese.
Epidemiologist Jayaprakash Mulliyil also said, “Tests are best way to contain the spread.”
The number of Covid-19 cases in Kerala crossed the 1,000 mark as 40 more people were diagnosed with the disease on Wednesday. CM said out of 1,004 cases reported so far, 445 are active while the state has reported six fatalities.
Union minister V Muraleedharan, who is from Kerala, accused the state government of often hiding data to keep its record intact. “If you check the list of total tests in the country, Kerala’s position is 26th. It is not even following ICMR guideline on community transmission tests,” said the minister in Delhi.
Vijayan dismissed these charges saying people who are jealous of the state’s track record are raising such apprehensions. “Our records speak. We have increased the number and doing sentinel tests also. There is no need of any worry on this count,” he said.