Troubling trend: India test numbers fall, RAT share remains high

Widespread use of RAT, in some cases up to 90% of all tests, has raised fears that a large number of positive cases could be missed. As per the ICMR protocol, every positive report from RAT can be treated as confirmed, but samples that test negative are to be retested using RTPCR. It is unclear how many states are rigorously following the retesting protocol.