Karnataka’s TPR remains below 1% for 112 days
The Hindu
Chikkamagaluru has the highest TPR at 1.27% while Bagalkot and Bidar have the lowest at 0.01%.
Karnataka has been consistently maintaining a test positivity rate (TPR) of less than 1% for the last 112 days. The State’s TPR has been on a steady decline since August 15 when the seven-day average TPR touched 1.01%. It reduced to 0.63% in a month by September 15 and 0.26% on November 15.
Although TPR slightly increased to 0.42% by November 30, mainly due to clusters across the State, it again declined to 0.36% on December 9. Although five districts have a TPR higher than the State average, it is still hovering between 1.27% and 0.45% in these districts. Chikkamagaluru has the highest at 1.27% while Bagalkot and Bidar have the lowest at 0.01%. Five districts — Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagaram, and Yadgir —have been maintaining zero TPR for the last three days. TPR, a vital marker in assessing the spread of an outbreak, is the percentage of people who are found to be infected by the virus from those who are being tested.
According to epidemiologists, a high positivity rate indicates that testing is relatively limited to people with high suspicion of COVID-19 and may miss new chains of transmission in the community.