India tests 4.5 lakh samples; states told not to use rapid kits for 2 days

The testing coverage of India has witnessed a rise from 0.04 per thousand population on April 1 to around 0.3 on Tuesday (April 21) as nearly 4.5 lakh samples have been tested so far, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

During a press conference, R Gangakhedkar, the head of epidemiology & communicable diseases at ICMR, said 4,49,810 samples had been tested in the country so far. As many as 35,852 samples were tested on April 20, of which 29,776 were tested in 201 labs of ICMR and the remaining at private ones, he said.

The ICMR has also advised states not to use rapid testing kits for two days. Gangakhedkar said on-ground teams will test and validate the kits and the ICMR would give an advisory in the next 2 days.

It is a new disease, in the last 3 and half months science has progressed & developed PCR tests, 5 vaccines have gone into human trial phase out of 70 vaccine candidates. It has never happened before in case of any other disease: R Gangakhedkar, ICMR #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/tuECCqRpnn

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2020

States have also been told to offer all other services like treatments for dialysis, HIV and cancer. At the same time, required infection management prevention should be in place, said Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry.

In addition to the 59 districts that had not reported any new case since April 5, as many as 61 districts from 23 States and UTs have not reported any fresh cases in the last 14 days, said Agrawal. Of them, Latur, Osmanabad, Hingoli and Washim are in Maharashtra.

As of 5 pm on April 21, India had 15,122 active cases. While 3,259 people have been cured or discharged, 603 have died due to the disease. Among the states, Maharashtra tops the table with 4,669 confirmed cases, including 232 deaths.