Of 44,000 ILI patients, only 124 tested positive for Covid-19

BENGALURU: In what appears to be a heartening sign, the positivity rate among those with influenza like illness (ILI) is lower than the overall test-to-patient ratio, a survey conducted by the Karnataka government has shown.
As part of its health watch programme, the government has been testing people with ILI, a section of the population that is considered vulnerable and at a high risk of contracting Covid-19.Until 14 June, 44,236 people were tested and only 124 or 0.3% of the group returned positive.
Dr C Nagaraj, director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, said: “The numbers surely are indicative of a positive trend. They also reiterate what public health experts have been pointing out all along — that ILI is not as severe as SARI (severe acute respiratory infection).”
However, of the 124 who tested positive, 83 of the cases pertained to the 14 days in June, a fortnight during which 6,522 tests were conducted. While the overall positivity rate of ILI patients is only 0.3%, it has been higher — at 1.3% — in June, a month when, overall, cases have spiked.
Further, the overall ILI positivity rate in Bengaluru Urban district has been more than double the state average. Of the 3,007 ILI patients tested in Bengaluru, 69 tested positive for an infection.
Other than Bengaluru only two districts have a positivity rate of 1% or close to it. With four in 401 tests turning positive, Bagalkot has a positivity rate of 1%, while Davangere with seven out of 795 has a positivity rate of 0.9%.