Agencies

The low rate of Coronavirus tests in India has been a concern ever since the virus entered our country, but in the latest, Mumbai has allowed COVID tests for all. People do not need a doctor's prescription to get tested.

This takes things to the next level as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that people with or without symptoms are also free to get tested for COVID-19.

As per recent data from the BMC, 3,63,120 tests have already been conducted in the city so far.

It is interesting and also discouraging to note that there is not a single country that knows the total number of infected people. The data is purely based on the number of people who get tested. The positive confirmed case in the labs are the only numbers that define confirmed cases in any country. So clearly the count depends on the number of people who are actually getting tested. If tests are low, numbers will not give a complete clarity of the infected.

Mass testing is the only way that the spread of the pandemic can be understood. Without widespread data, we can safely say that confirmed cases as well as death are both underreported. So this move from BMC is a welcomed one, something that should be applicable in other states as well.