Published on February 21, 2021
AHMEDABAD: In the past 20 days, Gujarat recorded 4,965 new positive cases. The cases were found from 6.13 lakh tests conducted, giving the test positivity rate (Covid-19 positive cases per 100 tests conducted) of 0.8%. It’s the lowest monthly TPR for Gujarat since the start of the pandemic. To put this in perspective, Gujarat’s average TPR for Covid-19 is 2.3%.
However, a data tabled in the Lok Sabha last week revealed that the TPR drop in Gujarat was lower than the national average. Against the monthly TPR drop of 0.8% in five months (from August to January) for Gujarat – from 3.1%to 2.3% – the national figure showed a drop of 2 per cent — from 8.3% to 6.3% — in the same period.
The data also revealed that 76% of Covid-19 detection tests conducted in Gujarat were rapid antigen tests (RAT). Only 23% were RT-PCR, whereas remaining 1% were of other means such as CBNAAT. RAT accounted for 48% of tests in India and 49% were RT-PCR.
The data covered 90.4 lakh tests in Gujarat out of which 20.8 lakh were RT-PCR and 69.1 lakh were RAT. Gujarat’s dependence on RAT was the third-highest in India after Telangana (84%) and Bihar (82%).
Parth Shastri Archive 