As many as 195,677 Covid19 tests have been carried out in J&K, a number when put against the population of the UT yields the highest number of tests per million people.
The J&K government recently announced aggressive 100 percent testing of all people returning from outside. In the recent weeks, a large number of people tested positive among those sampled either at airports at Jammu and Srinagar or in the quarantine centers where they were taken to after their arrival. Official data reveals that 1323 positive tests were among those who were tested upon their arrival from outside, out of the 3142 till Thursday.
In addition, the aggressive contact tracing in J&K, and the consequent testing has been pushing the number of tests higher.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurag K Pole said J&K was testing all people it considered “high suspects”. He said mandatory testing of travelers as well as contacts was a reason for high positive cases and was a sign that infected people were being identified. “Trace, test and treat is out strategy,” he said.
The case distribution reveals 251 cases per million of population, lower than many states. The population of J&K, as per Census 2011 is 12.5 million.
In addition, with 195677 tests, the percentage of positive cases is 1.6 in J&K. This data comparison with other states reveals a low positive percentage. Delhi, for example, has a positive percentage of 10 percent. Maharashtra has a positive percentage of 14.5 percent. Jharkand has a positive percentage of 1 percent. West Bengal has a positive percentage of 2.8 percent.
J&K has been carrying out 15654 tests per million population. The testing, J&K government said, is the highest among all states and UTs of India. As per information pertaining till 4 June, Goa was the only state with testing per million higher than that of J&K.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Chaudhary, while tweeting about the highest testing in J&K recently wrote, “From the beginning, testing was the key challenge.” He credits “efforts” put in by frontline workers at all levels for the achievement. On the day of the tweet, 2 June, J&K’s testing per million stood at 13823.