COVID-19 testing in India in comparison to the rest of the world. If Indian testing strategy was replicated in the other top 15 COVID-19 affected countries in the world, the status would be startlingly different

Abstract

In terms of the absolute number of COVID-19 positive cases, India is among the top four countries in the world. There is a lot of unwarranted criticism about the alleged inadequacy of COVID-19 testing in India. The facts available from international and publicly available online non-government source covering the entire world show otherwise. While India is fourth in terms of an absolute number of cases, its rank is 132nd in terms of cases per million population and 107th for deaths per million population. These are indications that India is doing much better in the battle against COVID-19 than it is getting credit for. The correct benchmark for the adequacy of testing is the percentage of COVID-19 positive results as compared to the total number of tests performed. India ranks 5th (out of 215) in this respect – being better than some western countries such as the USA, Spain, and France. Thus, the Indian strategy for COVID-19 testing is better and more appropriate than the majority of other countries with the large absolute number of positive cases.