ICMR advises states not to use rapid testing kits for 2 days, wait for advisory

NEW DELHI: Amid complaints about faulty rapid test kits , the Indian Council of Medical Research on Tuesday advised states not to use them for the next two days, saying it will issue an advisory after their teams carry out field validation of these equipment.At the daily government briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country, ICMR's Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar was asked about the faulty rapid testing kits."We have received complaint from a state yesterday and so far discussed with three states. Too much variations have been reported in results of rapid test kits and RT-PCR kits. We advise states not to use them for the next two days,” he said.“These kits will be tested and validated in the field by our teams. We will issue a clear-cut advisory in two day. If problems are detected in batches, we will tell the companies for replacement," he said.He said that a total of 4,49,810 samples for Covid-19 infection have been tested till Tuesday of which 35,852 were done on Monday.As many as 29,776 samples have been tested in 201 labs under the ICMR network, and 6,076 at 86 private laboratories, he said.The Chairman of the 4th Empowered Group (to tackle Covid-19) said that the government has created a portal with the master database of healthcare professionals and volunteers."Till now, details of 1.24 crore human resources of various kinds have been added to it,” he said.Details of corona warriors in 20 categories and 49 sub-categories, who can contribute to Covid-19 management efforts, are available to states and union territories on the portal, he saidLav Agrawal, the Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry , told the press conference that 18,601 positive cases have been reported across the country so far. As many as 3,252 people have been cured till now, he said, adding 705 of them recovered on Monday.“This takes our recovery percentage to 17.48,” he said.