Covid-19: Are India, others testing enough to get a true measure of spread?

Business Standard takes a look at daily and total tests done by all Indian states and 10 most affected countries globally

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally reached 13,236,249 on Tuesday, according to Worldometer. However, this number represents only the status of infection as captured through testing, as only lab-confirmed infections are counted as confirmed cases. This implies the true extent of the coronavirus pandemic’s spread could only be gauged by testing a lot.

In the words of World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the world needs to "Test, test, test. Test every suspected case". The WHO chief had suggested on March 16 that testing was the only way to understand the extent of the problem and find a solution. "You cannot fight a fire blindfolded," he had said...

Here's a look at how the 10 most affected countries by total cases are doing in terms of testing:

India’s coronavirus testing strategy

For detection of Covid-19, India is primarily using the real-time-polymerase chain reaction test method, more commonly known as RT-PCR and considered gold standard of frontline testing for the novel coronavirus. According to the American Society for Microbiology, the combination of excellent sensitivity and specificity, low contamination risk, and speed has made RT-PCR technology an appealing alternative to culture- or immunoassay-based testing methods for diagnosing many infectious diseases...Read More