Episode 804

Does India’s Coronavirus testing protocol need to change?

As India registered its largest daily increase in coronavirus cases yesterday with 208 new cases, the Health Ministry reiterated that COVID-19 is still in the local transmission stage in India and that there has been “no community transmission as of now”. Some experts, however, have argued that India’s testing has been inadequate, and that the virus may be spreading widely outside the selected group. Abantika Ghosh details what India’s testing strategy is, whether we’re testing enough, and challenges to scaling it up. Next, Prabha Raghavan details requirements private labs must fulfill to be fit for testing for COVID-19, whether turnover time can be improved, and how private testing firms are justifying the high cost of their tests.

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Does India’s Coronavirus testing protocol need to change?As India registered its largest daily increase in coronavirus cases yesterday with 208 new cases, the Health Ministry reiterated that COVID-19 is still in the local transmission stage in India and that there has been “no community transmission as of now”. Some experts, however, have argued that India’s testing has been inadequate, and that the virus may be spreading widely outside the selected group. Abantika Ghosh details what India's testing strategy is, whether we're testing enough, and challenges to scaling it up. Next, Prabha Raghavan details requirements private labs must fulfill to be fit for testing for COVID-19, whether turnover time can be improved, and how private testing firms are justifying the high cost of their tests. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on https://www.indianexpress.com/audio.