Govt orders 10 lakh test kits from Germany

New Delhi, March 16

India is bracing for potential surge in Covid-19 cases and has ordered 10 lakh test kits from Germany. The purchase order has been revised five times over the weekend as the number of cases rises.

“We have to be prepared. We need adequate stocking of test kits at each of the 52 testing laboratories across India,” ICMR head scientist R Gangakedkar said today.

The ICMR said its biggest worry was to determine whether India was witnessing any community transmission of the virus. “We are conducting surveillance on 20 samples of severe acute respiratory illness at 52 labs to rule out community transmission of the virus,” he said. — TNS