Karnataka’s COVID positive rate drops from 15% to 12%

BENGALURU: Amidst the rising COVID positive cases in Karnataka, the state’s test positive rate (TRR) has declined even further, giving the people hope. TRR is defined as the number of people found infected per 100 tests and is a vital parameter in assessing the spread of the outbreak. The state’s TRR has dropped from the previous 15 per cent to 12 per cent. 

While the number of COVID cases in Bengaluru Urban and Rural has seen a steady rise in the past 15 days, the TRR of both the areas has also seen a considerable decline. In these areas, the TRR had peaked at 23 per cent (Rural) and 24 per cent (Urban), and has not dropped to 15 per cent. According to officials, the outbreak has reached its peak in the state and the coronavirus graph is likely see a decline in the near future.

Shalini Rajneesh, additional chief secretary and state nodal officer for COVID-19, said, “It is natural that after achieving the high percentage of positivity, the curve goes down, indicating the pandemic is coming under control.” However, officials say that there is still a long way to go considering that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends reducing the positivity rate to five per cent or less for at least two weeks to effectively bring the pandemic under control. Experts suggest that a rise in the TRR can be attributed to an increase in testing. 

“With the introduction of large-scale antigen testing in the state and expansion of testing labs over the last week of July, the daily average for the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state has risen to nearly 50,000 per day, which in turn has helped in bringing the state’s positivity rate down since the second week of August,” said state health department officials.

Dr Giridhara R Babu, member of Karnataka’s COVID-19 technical advisory committee, said that a decreasing TPR indicated that the overall prevalence is a downward trajectory. “It also means the state’s testing is in pace with the spread. However, the state can only heave a sigh of relief when the overall TPR drops below five per cent,” said Babu. Despite this, authorities are cautiously analysing the data to ensure the sustained dip is not due to false negatives from the rapid antigen tests which are less accurate than RT-PCR tests.