The weekly COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR), which was between 2.2% and 2.5% last month has dropped to 1.8% this month. Also, the weekly positivity rate, which was between 14.2% and 20.7% from September till early this month, has dropped to 9%.
According to the COVID-19 war room in Bengaluru, the positivity rate was 10.2% in seven days and the weekly CFR was 1.8%. In seven days, Mysuru reported 62 deaths. As on Thursday, Mysuru had 6,980 active cases.
The biggest worry for the government and the authorities ahead of the Dasara festivities was the increasing fatalities in Mysuru, which was second highest in the State after Bengaluru. The slight drop in CFR may bring some relief to the district administration, which has the challenging task of keeping Mysuru safe from COVID-19 spread during the festive season.
Between September 9 and 15, the CFR was 2.2% and 2.5% between September 16 and 22. It dropped to as low as 0.6% between September 23 and 29 (this was perhaps because the deaths were not updated daily following the strike by the contract health workers). Between September 30 and October 6, the CFR was 2.3%, which dropped to 1.8% from October 7 to 13, according to the figures furnished by the war room.
As the disease burden went up last month, the number of persons who tested positive per 100 samples was 20.7 (between September 9 and 15). It dropped to 20.1% between September 16 and 22. The positivity rate dropped further to 14% between September 23 and 29, but went up marginally to 14.2% between September 30 and October 6. Till October 13, the weekly positivity rate stood at 9%, bringing marginal respite to those combating the infection.
As announced by the district administration that tests had been ramped up to contain the pandemic, the average antigen tests per day and average RT-PCR tests per day have significantly gone up. As many as 2,241 PCR tests are being done per day based on the figures available between October 7 and 13. Likewise, 2,855 antigen tests were conducted in the same period.
Between October 7 and 13, nearly 20,000 RATs had been done (an increase by nearly 10,000 tests a week), while 15,688 PCR tests were conducted in the same week. Nearly 200% test target had been achieved between October 7 and 13, which is a 100% jump in the target compared to the previous week. The number of samples collected per day has also increased, with nearly 4,380 samples collected between October 7 and 13, while it was 4,067 between September 30 and October 6. When compared to the previous month, more than 1,000 samples per day were being collected for testing.
