The number of RT-PCR tests for the detection of COVID-19 surpassed the two million mark in India on Friday, ICMR said, while the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 81,970 in the country. A total of 20,39,952 as of Friday, and nine 2,911 tests have been conducted since nine o’clock on Thursday, Dr Rajnikant Srivastava, head of the Department of Research Management, Policy Planning and Communication at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said here.
According to officials, COVID-19 testing has been especially expanded in the past two months and capacity has increased to around one lakh of tests per day. “To promote Make in India and national brands to validate their COVID-19 diagnostic kits, the number of ICMR-approved validation centers and laboratories has increased from five to 14,” Srivastava said.
Starting with one laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and one hundred laboratories at the beginning of the lockdown, RT-PCR tests can now be performed at 360 government testing centres and 147 personal testing centres across the country. Added.
As of March 31, 47,852 samples have been tested, while as of April 30, a total of 9,02,654 samples have been tested for coronavirus, the ICMR official said. From May 1 to May 15 at 8 a. m. , 11,37,298 samples were analyzed. “The nasal and pharyngeal swab RT-PCR test is the most productive method for diagnosing COVID-19. The test detects the virus at an early level and is the most productive strategy for identifying and isolating the individual, ideal fitness studies. “Frame said. ” The popular gold for COVID-19 testing is still the RT-PCR test,” Srivastava said.
In addition, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday committed the COBAS 6800 device to the country. He said it is the first fully automated, high-end device for real-time PCR testing for COVID-19 purchased through the government and installed. at the National Center for Disease Control.
The device will deliver high-quality, high-volume around 1,200 samples in 24 hours, Vardhan said, adding that it will increase capacity with a reduction in waiting time. The device requires minimal human intervention and can be monitored remotely.
Vardhan said the COBAS 6800 is a robot-driven device that minimizes the threat of contamination and infection to healthcare workers as it can be operated remotely with limited human intervention. Meanwhile, NIV has evolved and effectively validated the first Elisa IgG Kit, “COVID Kavach ELISA”, for the detection of COVID-19 antibodies, which will play a critical role in coronavirus surveillance.
The verification kit has the advantage of verifying 90 samples in combination in a span of two and a half hours, so healthcare professionals can temporarily move on to the next steps. According to an ICMR on external validation, the IgG ELISA verification kit was found to have a sensitivity and specificity of 98. 7% and 100%, respectively.
India’s BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 inventory indexes will open dull on Tuesday, according to GIFT Nifty. The key inventories to watch out for are those of Lupin, Gujarat Gas, Route Mobile, Godrej Consumer Products, Bajaj FinServ, Wipro, Bajaj Healthcare, Adani Total. Gas and more. Lupin recorded a 52% increase in net profit, while Gujarat Gas recorded an 11% increase in net profit.