Low testing rates in India, Indonesia and Pakistan risk leaving them ignorant about the extent of coronavirus transmission in their countries.
All three nations -- which together hold about 25% of the global population -- crossed 1,500 cases this week. They have tested the lowest number of residents per million, according to official data for six nations in Asia compiled by Bloomberg. “Without testing, it’s like moving blindfolded," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general at the World Health Organization, said in a briefing on Monday.
He urged nations to increase the ratio to 10 tests for each positive diagnosis, which means India, Indonesia and Pakistan should each have tested at least 15,000 per million.