COVID-19 Sample Tests: Odisha at 10th, Delhi tops per million chart!

Bhubaneswar: With the country's top 5 states in COVID-19 positives having also emerged as the top-5 states in testing of novel coronavirus samples, Odisha seems to have its task cut out. The State is now at 10th among 19 major states that have a population ranging from over 1 crore to 23 crore.

As per the data collated from various state governments, Delhi tops the country in the yardstick of per million COVID-19 samples tested. The samples tested in the national capital territory till April 14 stood at around 15032. With a population of over 2.01 crore, the COVID-19 tests per million population in the national capital is estimated at a massive 744.9.

Kerala and Maharashtra are apparently in neck-to-neck contest. With a total tests of over 18000, the tests per million population in the southern state stood at around 515.

And Maharashtra, though tops the COVID-19 chart in the country, after testing a total of over 63, 476 samples till April 19, figures 3rd in the indicator of COVID-19 samples tested per million population with a value of around 514. 

Another Southern State, Tamil Nadu, where cases rose quite sharply in a very short span, finished fourth in the table of COVID-19 tests per million. The value is estimated at around 463.

Neighbouring State Andhra Pradesh with a total tests of 26,958 till date occupies the 5th slot with a count of 410 samples tested per million. Gujarat with a value of 378.9 tests per million followed it.

The states at the bottom-5 among the nineteen major states (based on population) are: West Bengal (49/million), Jharkhand (56/million), Bihar (82.57/million), Assam (90/million) and UP (173.1/million), respectively.

Odisha is at the 10th slot with a value of 221.7 per million population. The State has conducted a total tests of 9690 till date. The states that have a better testing rate per million than Odisha are: Karnataka (288.8), Uttarakhand (280.9) and Madhya Pradesh (271.8).

The noteworthy mention here is in the month of April, Odisha has conducted over 83 per cent of total Covid-19 tests. COVID-19 tests first started in Odisha on February 4. It is this scale up in testing that has put Odisha among the top -10 states in the yardstick of per million sample tests.

Because, Odisha was languishing at the bottom-5 states nationally in the per million ranking tests at the end of April first week.

Another new trend observed regarding COVID-19 positives in the State is, as per State health department data, the number of COVID-19 positives in the age-group of 0-14 years is more than the usually affected age-group of above 60-years worldwide.

Among the total 61 positives detected in the State till date, as many as 8 or around 13 per cent belong to the age-group of 0-14 years; whereas a total of seven or 11 per cent belong to the 60-plus years age-group, including the lone death. Moreover, a massive of over 47 per cent COVID-19 positives belong to the working age-group of 15-40 years.