Coronavirus test rate: Bangladesh among 4 worst countries

Bangladesh is among the four worst countries for coronavirus test rate, according to pandemic data site worldometer.

The other countries are Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the worst country for testing rate, with 16 tests for every million people, followed by Bangladesh with only 18 tests for every million people, the data shows.

Nigeria tests 19 for its every one million people.  

Indonesia has been testing a surprisingly low number of suspects considering its 270 million populations.

Only 36 in every million people are being tested for the coronavirus in Indonesia, making it the fourth worst in testing rate among countries with a 50-million population or above, The Straight Times reports.

In comparison, South Korea tests 8,996 for every million people, Singapore 6,666, and Malaysia 1,605.

Indonesia's ranking among the likes of Ethiopia comes as a surprise as the Southeast Asia's largest economy has a GDP that is at least three times larger than any of the three other countries in the peer.

However, experts warned that the pandemic cannot be stopped if not enough Covid-19 tests are conducted, especially since it won’t present a clear picture of the situation.

On March 16, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press briefing, said: “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected.

"We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. Test every suspected case.”