Covid-19: How Indian states have fared in testing for coronavirus

An analysis of where India stands in terms of confirmed coronavirus cases as a proportion of total tests carried out

India’s tally of Covid-19-positive cases has reached 9,240 and the number of fatalities currently stands at 331. The country has so far tested 179,374 samples (as on 11 April) — implying 4.7 per cent of the samples tested have been found to be positive for Covid-19.

India is constantly upgrading its testing capabilities to keep a check on the spread of coronavirus infections in the country. The number of tests conducted has grown almost four times since April 1 to an average 15,000 daily in the past five days.





In Tamil Nadu, 9.8 per cent of the 9,842 tests conducted gave coronavirus-positive results, the highest ratio among all states and Union Territories of India. It was followed by Delhi and Chandigarh, where 9.1 and 7.2 per cent of the tests yielded positive results, respectively.

Among other major states, Rajasthan and Kerala have lower infection-to-test conducted ratios, at 2.8 and 2.6, respectively. In Maharashtra, which has conducted 31,841 tests — the most among all Indian states, 5.5 per cent tests have given confirmed Covid-19-positive results. Telangana, with 503 confirmed Covid-19 cases, has not reported the data on tests conducted by it.

Tests per capita

While Maharashtra has conducted the highest number of tests on an absolute basis, Delhi tops the charts with highest Covid-19 tests on a per-capita basis. Delhi has so far conducted 11,709 tests, which translates into 7 tests per 10,000 population. It is followed by Kerala and Rajasthan, with ratios of 4.2 and 3.6, respectively, on the same metrics.

West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have the lowest density, with 0.5 and 0.3 Covid-19 tests per 10,000 population. Overall, India has a ratio of 1.3 tests per 10,000 population.