UP: Covid outlier or data fudger?

The test-positivity indicator stron­gly suggests that UP has been fudging the Covid data

“States should be encouraged to report their numbers transparently” [Prime Minister Narendra Modi, May 15, 2021] Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s most populous state, has the fourth-largest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. According to the records, between February 9 and May 17, 2021, UP officially registered over a million Covid-positive cases; and 9,125 certified Covid-related deaths [see https://www.covid19­india.org].

I was getting bothered about the UP numbers. These clashed with all that we know about UP. About its miserable health and hospital facilities; its dysfunctional district administrations; that most citizens of the state do not bother to mask themselves; of