Low Reported COVID-19 Cases in South Asian Countries: A Luck of Nature or A Ticking Time Bomb

Objective Purpose of the current study was to find the trend in progression of COVID-19 among South Asian countries as compared to more developed western countries. Method COVID-19 data of South Asian countries was taken for this observational study. Data was taken up to 21 st April since the outbreak of the virus. There were 4 out of 7 countries which passed through the inclusion criteria and included for analysis. Results Increase in average weekly reported cases after 5 th week since first case reported was exponential. Correlation between reported cases and tests performed was found strong and significant (r=0.90, p-value=0.037). However, on average 315.25 tests per million population was performed which was at least 12 times lower than the tests performed in the countries having large number of COVID-19 cases. Conclusion At present, number of reported cases from South Asia was found extrememly lower than western countries. However, it could be due to a smaller number of tests performed. Hence, increase in strength of performing diagnostic tests is highly recommended. Strict measures are required to be taken to make the people of these countries to follow the instructions of social distancing and comply with preventive measures.