Goa's COVID-19 Test Positivity Rate Is Now At An Alarming 51 Per Cent, The Highest In India

With the addition of 3,019 new cases on Thursday, Goa's overall COVID-19 count went up to 88,028.

The death toll mounted to1,146 as 36 patients succumbed to the viral infection during the day.

This is for the second consecutive day that the number of coronavirus cases in the coastal state remained above the 3,000-mark. On Wednesday, it had reported 3,101 cases, while on Tuesday, the count was 2,110.

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As 914 patients got discharged from hospitals on Thursday, the recovery count mounted to 65,984.

Grim readings

There are 20,898 COVID-19 active cases in the state at present, an official said.

"As 5,910 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the overall test count of the state went up to 6,46,059," he added.

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Sky high positivity rate

But what is concerning in the state is the test positivity rate which has now shot up to 51 per cent. This means that one in every two tests returns as positive.

In comparison, the test positivity rate in Delhi, which is among the worst affected in India is 32.8 per cent.

Like many other states, Goa too has gone into a lockdown to curb the spread of the infection there.

The COVID-19-related curbs came into force at 9 pm on Thursday and will remain applicable till 6 am on Monday (May 3).

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The state government has said all essential services would be allowed to function during the period.

A senior police officer said there was hardly any traffic on roads and strict patrolling was underway to implement the restrictions, especially in urban areas.

"Weekly markets will not be allowed during the lockdown. Casinos will also remain shut. However, industrial activities will be allowed to function," Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said while announcing the curbs on Wednesday.

The Indian Medical Associations Goa unit demanded that the lockdown be continued for 15 days or at least till positivity rate - proportion of samples returning positive among the total tested - drops to 10 per cent.

We wish the lockdown is extended by another 15 days or more to have the Break the Chain effect which will definitely help in making the COVID-19 graph go in a downward trend, IMA Goa president Vinayak Buvaji said in a letter to the chief minister.

The IMA would favour extending the lockdown for at least 15 days from Monday (May 3) or till the positivity comes down from existing 50 per cent to 10 per cent, he said.