The COVID-19 positivity rate in Bengaluru, which had fallen in the past two months, is increasing again. According to data provided by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) war room, the positivity rate from October 1 to 10 is 14.53%.
The positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for every 100 tests performed. After peaking at 24.15% in July, the positivity rate fell to 13.45% in August and 12.79% in September. Officials expected the downward trend to continue, but this does not appear to be the case. Since the beginning of October, the number of people contracting COVID-19 has been on the rise, with the daily numbers surpassing the 5,000 mark on several occasions.
C. Nagaraj, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Thoracic Diseases (RGICD) and a member of the state task force, said the increase could be attributed to better contact tracing efforts by teams on the ground. “Before, the primary contacts of positive patients were reluctant to be tested for COVID-19 unless they had symptoms. But now, since patients can remain in home isolation, they are willing to get tested sooner. This is partly responsible for the high positivity rate, ”he said.
According to Giridhar R. Babu, a member of the State COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee, peripheral areas such as RR Nagar and Mahadevapura are experiencing an increase in cases that coincides with the complete relaxation of restrictions.
However, civic officials said the positivity rate is directly related to the number of tests performed.
Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, special officer for BBMP’s war room, said that every city has multiple peaks and lows. “This fifteen-day positivity rate has increased. Whenever we see an increase in the positivity rate, we rapidly increase testing, ”he said. He also said that increased testing is highly dependent on the general trend and logistics availability.
N. Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner of BBMP, said there was a need to increase testing, which would further reduce the positivity rate. “So far, on average, we are running 38,000 tests per day and it should be increased to 50,000. All cities that have lowered their positivity rate have greatly increased their testing, “he said.
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