Coronavirus is fast vanishing from Bengaluru and from major districts like Mysuru. So believes the state government as there is a sharp decline in positivity rate and case fatality rate — two vital markers in assessing virus spread. But health experts say it is too early to celebrate or even make claims. Some even claim that the figures are being manipulated by keeping the testing low.
The sudden drop in positivity rate and case fatality rate has triggered speculation whether the government is fudging data to show a fall in the number of cases reported every day or if the government has deliberately reduced testing to show fewer positive cases.
A cautious Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told a local media that “The virus has not yet vanished from Bengaluru, but is definitely not spreading with the ferocity it did a few weeks ago.”
Bengaluru had been reporting around 5,000 positive cases per day in early October; that has come down to 1874 on Tuesday. On Monday it was 1603. But there is no magic here as the testing was low post the Dasara festival. On Monday and Tuesday, testing was low at 6000-plus against the normal of 1 lakh.
In the districts too the numbers have come down drastically to double digits with testing taking a sharp dip.
Health officials said the positivity rate in Bengaluru had dropped to 11.8% on Sunday from 24.1% in July, 13.3% in August and 12.8% in September.
