Coronavirus: Is India testing enough people for coronavirus?

India ranks extremely low in the coronavirus-hit countries list based on the number of tests done per million population. India has reported less than 4,300 infected cases and 1,30,000 tests so far. This means India has carried out 93 tests per million population and reported only three cases per million population.

Other countries have carried out way more tests than India; they have also reported a lot higher number of cases and deaths. The US has 3.36 lakh cases with nearly 10,000 deaths. But it has carried out 17 lakh tests at a rate of 5,355 per million population.

Click here to Enlarge

In the case of Spain, the number of cases are 1.31 lakh, but it has tested nearly 3.5 lakh people, at a rate of nearly 7,600 per million population. Same is the case with Italy, where over 1.28 lakh are infected and nearly 16,000 have died. Italy has done nearly 7 lakh tests at a rate of 11,436 per million population.

In the case of Germany, the test rate is 10,962 per million with nearly 10 lakh already tested. France has tested 2.24 lakh people at a rate of 3,436 per million population. In UK, 1.95 lakh people have been tested at a rate of 2,880 per million people so far. Even in Iran, where over 3,600 people died, 1.86 lakh tests have been done at a rate of 2,214 per million population.

Click here to Enlarge

Maximum tests per million population are done in countries like Switzerland, at a rate of 18,256 per million and Norway with 19,528 per million. South Korea, which effectively contained the pandemic with widespread testing from the beginning did 4.61 lakh tests at a rate of 8,996 per million population.

India' ICMR says the number of tests done in the country so far is below its potential testing capacity. It now in the process of implementing random tests and aggressive surveillance in coronavirus hotspots in the country.

Equity, forex, commodity markets shut on account of Mahavir Jayanti today

Coronavirus Live Updates: 490 cases in 12 hours; active patients rise to 3,666; death toll 109