HYDERABAD: The worst is not over for Telangana. In a worrisome development, Khammam has become one of the 66 districts in India with a weekly Test Positivity Rate (TPR) higher than 10 per cent. This week, the district recorded 12.37 per cent positivity rate and was listed as one of the ‘districts of concern’ by the MOHFW in its daily briefing on Friday, July 9, 2021.
Khammam’s high TPR can possibly be attributed to its higher RT-PCR test rate. It is conducting the most number of RT-PCR tests in the state and nearly 40 per cent of all tests done in the district are RT-PCR tests.
All the other districts of Telangana, including Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal, have been conducting fewer RT-PCR tests and have much lower weekly TPRs. For instance, after Khammam, the second-highest percentage of RT-PCR tests has been recorded in Malkajgiri district at 34 per cent, followed by Rangareddy at 32 per cent and Hyderabad at 25 per cent. However, what is more worrisome is that the districts neighbouring Khammam, where cross-border transmission is possible, are still conducting very few RT-PCR tests compared to Rapid Antigen Tests.
For instance, Kothugudem, Mahabubabad, Suryapet, and Nalgonda districts, which are adjacent to Khammam, have conducted fewer RT-PCR tests than RAT, with the percentage share of tests at 1 per cent, 8 per cent, 1 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, Khammam has persistently been on the MOHFW list in the last week of May and the first two weeks of June, after which there was a brief lull in new infections.