Pune: District administration on Thursday (July 23) patted its back for achieving the highest daily COVID-19 testing rate in the country but this has also revealed a 27 per cent positivity rate meaning almost more than one-fourth of the district's population may have already been exposed to the coronavirus infection and generated antibodies against it.
Saurabh Rao, Officer on Special Duty at the Divisional Commissioner Office said, “A total 37,339 tests were conducted in the week of July 16 to 22 from which 10,152 COVID-positive patients were identified. This comes to around a 27 per cent positivity rate in the district.
“In the last four weeks that is from June 25 to July 21, 1.16 lakh tests were conducted in Pune city. It was the highest in the country. Also, the tests conducted in the entire Pune district – which comprises Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad city and rural parts of the district – were also the highest in the country,” Rao said.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RT-PCR AND RAPID ANTIGEN TEST
Rapid antibody test detects whether a person has developed antibodies against an infection. These antibodies take two weeks to develop in the patient’s body. The antibody test is used to assess the level of exposure of the population to the virus. The RT-PCR test actually detects the virus in swabs collected from the patient which helps in diagnosis.
COMPARISON OF DAILY TESTS CONDUCTED
|
City |
Total tests conducted daily |
|
Pune |
11,000 to 15,000 |
|
Mumbai |
6,000 to 7,000 |
|
Thane |
5,000 to 6,000 |
TESTS CONDUCTED BY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF PUNE CITY
|
Period |
Tests conducted |
Positive cases identified (in per cent) |
|
June 25 to July 1 |
22,800 |
4,451 (19.5 per cent) |
|
July 2 to 8 |
25,200 |
6,063 (24 per cent) |
|
July 9 to 15 |
32,100 |
6335 (19.7 per cent) |
|
July 16 to 23 |
37,000 |
10,152 (27 per cent) |
TESTING IN PUNE DISTRICT
March (when first patient found): 138
March 31: 970
April 30: 19,496
May 31: 76,528
June 30: 1.7 lakh
July (as on 23rd day): 3.45 lakh
