A statistical oddity in India's new coronavirus testing numbers has sparked questions about the country's data management.

An Indian woman lights earthen lamps on her balcony to mark the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Every day for over a week in late March, government data on the difference between the number of overall samples tested and number of individuals tested remained exactly the same - 890.

That is despite both sets of numbers increasing every day.

While the number of overall tests will be greater than or equal to the number of individuals tested, given some people get retested, the repetition of the number baffled experts.

"When it is exactly 890 [repeatedly], that needs further explanation," said India-based epidemiologist Tanmay Mahapatra.

The recurrence of the 890-gap in the Indian Council of Medical Research's data was reported by data journalism outlet IndiaSpend.

The issue has reignited researchers' calls for the Indian government to share more granular data. Giridhar Babu, a professor of epidemiology with the Public Health Foundation of India, said that would allow researchers to spot potential issues with numbers more quickly.

Overall, India has conducted a little more than 96,000 tests, a tiny proportion of its 1.3 billion population.

New government forms issued in recent days, however, include the question, "Is this a repeated sample?" 


Newspaper headline: India finds coronavirus testing error