For those asking why I'm going on like a broken record about increasing testing please read this thread. This may seem obvious to you but it's still worth explaining. #covid #COVID19India 1/n

Let's say population of a town is 100. 10 ppl are positive and detected, 10 are positive and not detected and remaining 80 are negative. Now the detected 10 are isolated so can't spread. Undetected 10 keep spreading the infection. In a matter of days this group has infected 2/n

another 10. So infection spreads and 30/100 have it.When you test and detect more positive cases it helps you isolate them and reduce their potential to spread. So let's say you increase testing and detect 17 out of the 20 instead of just 10/20.Now only 3 can spread & not 10. 3/n

So spread reduces though case numbers go up drastically for a while. Governments across the country are worried if case numbers go up thinking this will scare people and reflect badly on them. Actually a Govt identifying more cases and isolating them is the one doing well 4/n

But politically many are afraid as to how this will play out. Once the testing has picked up a significant % of cases, the spread gets controlled. In fact this is now accepted to be the right way and only way to deal with #covid until a drug or vaccine is available. 5/n

The reluctance to test more is primarily fuelled by the fear of public anger if more numbers are reported which politicians feel wd reflect badly on their Govt. They believe that since the mortality rate is relatively low they could possibly get away with it for now 6/n

They may indeed get away but not without the loss of thousands of additional lives that could have been saved. If you think this thread makes any sense then you would have understood why we need to test more. n/n