Covid positivity rate in Ghaziabad villages is 1/3rd of urban areas

GHAZIABAD: The Covid-19 positivity rate in rural parts of Ghaziabad is one-third of that in urban areas. An analysis of Covid tests conducted in the district between May 21 and 30 has revealed that the positivity rate in rural areas was 1.09% in this period, while it stood at 2.8% in urban areas.
In the wake of the second wave of the virus, the district administration had intensified Covid testing in rural areas from May 21, with over 2,000 tests daily.
According to official figures, a total of 26,656 tests were conducted till May 30 in rural areas and 292 people were found to be positive.
Likewise, 1,551 out of the 56,376 people tested in urban areas were found to be infected with the virus.
The data further showed a steep decline in daily cases over the past 10 days. The highest number of cases in both categories was reported on May 21, with 68 new cases in rural areas and 560 in urban areas.
Officials said against the daily target of 8,150 tests in Ghaziabad since May 16, the department has been conducting over 8,250 tests. Despite increased testing, the positivity rate has been on the decline, with the lockdown being one of the major reasons behind a break in the chain of infection, they added.
Breaking all records, Ghaziabad conducted over two lakh Covid tests in May and reported 14,167 cases, the highest in a month since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. A total of 12.35 lakh samples have been collected in the district for testing till date.
As many as 12 permanent booths and four mobile teams are working in urban areas, while 20 permanent booths are conducting tests in rural areas.
A senior health official said teams have been constituted to identify patients suspected to have been infected in villages. With the help of monitoring committees, medical kits containing medicines that are generally given to Covid patients are being distributed.
A total of 86,000 such kits have been distributed in both rural and urban areas so far by rapid response teams (RRTs), staff deputed at Covid testing centres (private and government), urban primary health centres and community health centres, among others. At present, a total of 135 RRTs are operating in the district, out of which 83 are in urban areas and 52 in rural areas.