COVID-19: 120 districts reported weekly positivity rate of 10 per cent
At least 120 districts in 29 states and Union Territories have reported a weekly positivity rate of 10 per cent in the third wave of the pandemic, driven by the highly transmissible variant Omicron, latest government data shows.
The positivity rate, or the number of people testing positive for every 100 tests, was 10 per cent in only two districts as on December 24. The weekly positivity rate rose to over 10 per cent in 41 districts in 17 states and Union Territories by January 6. More districts continued to report high positivity rate and currently a total of 120 districts have weekly positivity rate of over 10 per cent, government data shows.
"Testing is the backbone for curbing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 as it helps early detection of cases and their isolation and contact tracing. All states are advised to scale up testing to maximum possible levels using rapid antigen tests in underserved areas, rural areas and places where RT-PCR testing is not feasible," the Indian Council of Medical Research, or ICMR, said in the document detailing the weekly positivity rate. The data came from states and laboratories in the ICMR portal.