Covid-19: Telangana's positivity rate at 1.4%, controlling it post-lockdown key

HYDERABAD: The positivity rate of new Covid-19 cases in the state has now dropped to 1.4% now, having fallen continuously over the last one month. The positivity rate had touched 8.7% at the beginning of May, dropping to 7.2% in the second week and subsequently dropping to 5% towards the end of May.
“The drop in the last 12 days has been the fastest, going from 4% to 1.4% in a short time.It is well within the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended positivity rate of 5%. While this is a good thing, the only concern right now is that the drop is due to the ongoing lockdown. Once the lockdown is lifted, maintaining the same positivity rate will be key to controlling the spread. Nevertheless, following Covid-19 protocols is essential at all times,” said a health department official.
The case positivity rate is an indication of the viral spread and a positivity rate below 5% is considered to be good. The state conducted 1.6 lakh Covid-19 tests per day on average during the first ten days of this month with 22,059 samples returning positive — translating into a positivity rate of just over 2% during that time.
The case positivity rate for GHMC stood at 1.75%. Currently, Warangal Rural — at just over 4% — has the highest positivity rate in Telangana while Adilabad with 0.52%, has the lowest case positivity rate in state as per official records. Officials expect positivity rate to dip further over next one week.
The state conducted 1.6 lakh tests per day on average during the first ten days of this month with 22,059 samples returning positive — a positivity rate of just over 2%