The North East district in Delhi has recorded the lowest rate of positivity of COVID-19 cases, which is the percentage of positive cases of the total tests conducted, on most days in March, stated official data shared with The Hindu .
All 11 districts of the city have shown a gradual increase in positivity, as number of cases has been rising in March, which is currently at a three-month high.
While in North East district lesser number of people are testing positive per 100 tests, compared to other districts, North West, South West and South districts are on the higher side with more people testing positive per 100 tests.
Officials said that the area from where samples are collected, the profile of the people, and other factors can lead to this.
“North East district has been showing low positivity for a while now and it is interesting. But we cannot name an exact reason behind the same. A study should be done if we need to find the exact cause,” a Delhi government official said.
For instance, on March 24, the lowest positivity of 0.54% was recorded in North East district, while the highest of 3% was in North West, followed by 2.41% in South East district.
Similarly on March 5, the lowest positivity of 0.10% was in North East district, while the highest of 1.34% was in South West district, followed by 0.93% in East.
Doctor’s opinion
“In North East district, there is a lot of migratory population and many overcrowded areas. So, a lot of people might have been infected earlier. This might be leading to lesser positive cases now,” said Jugal Kishore, head of the community medicine department at Safdarjung Hospital.
