India has ramped up testing since the lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended to May 17.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 9,76,363 samples have been tested as of 9 am of May 2. No further data was provided.
Here are the state-wise numbers as of 10 am on May 2:
— Andhra Pradesh has tested 1,02,460 samples out of which 1,00,997 were negative. The state reported a total of 1,463 cases, with 403 recoveries and 33 deaths on May 1.
— Kerala has tested 27,150 samples so far and of these, 26,225 have returned negative. The state currently has 497 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 392 recoveries and 4 deaths.
— Tamil Nadu has tested 1,29,363 samples so far, with 2,526 people testing positive. 1,24,852 samples tested negative and results of 1,183 samples are awaited. 1,312 people have recovered and 28 people have died due to the disease.
—Telangana had been providing sample numbers till April 30, but has not provided an update since. A total of 1,044 people have tested positive so far, with 464 recoveries. The state has recorded 28 deaths so far.
— Karnataka has tested 64,898 samples, with 589 people testing positive and 61,855 samples returning negative. The state has recorded 22 COVID-19 deaths, while 251 persons have recovered.
— Maharashtra had tested 1,53,125 laboratory samples on May 1, out of which 1,40,587 were negative and 11,506 tested positive. 485 people have died from the disease in the state, while 1,879 have recovered.
Public health experts have called for wider testing to check for community transmission of COVID-19. The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) testing strategy has been expanded and all symptomatic patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) - those with fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose - need to be tested in hotspots/clusters (identified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) and in large migration gatherings/ evacuees centres. Symptomatic ILI patients will have to be tested within seven days of presenting with the illness.
Earlier, the guidelines limited testing to those who have international travel history and are symptomatic; those who have contact history with a confirmed COVID-19 case and have symptoms of the virus; healthcare workers who are symptomatic; patients hospitalised with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI); and a direct or high-risk contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case who can be symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Presently, only the RT-PCR or the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, ICMR has allowed places that are hotspots (high number of cases) to test residents using the rapid antibody kits, which can deliver results within 30-45 minutes as opposed to 24 hours that an RT-PCR test. However, a positive result by the rapid antibody test will have to be further tested by the RT-PCR test to confirm for the novel coronavirus. ICMR advises those with a negative result by the rapid antibody test to be home quarantined.
For The News Minute's live tracker map, click the 'Coronavirus Live' icon found on the top right corner of every page.