14 new cases: India’s Covid-19 count 151

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Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness of hospitals, availability of testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPEs), medicines and adequate isolation wards in view of the novel coronavirus, whose total number of cases in India has now risen to 151. One private diagnostic centre was given a licence to conduct tests while the applications of three more are under process after the government allowed the private sector to do Covid-19 testing.

On Wednesday, 14 fresh cases reported from various parts of the country included one from the Indian Army. Out of the total numbers, 134 are active cases under treatment, while 14 persons have been discharged from hospitals. There have been three deaths so far. The positive cases include 25 foreign nationals.

The Indian Army reported its first Covid-19 case — a jawan tested positive after returning from his home town. The Ladakh Scouts jawan caught the infection from his father, who returned from Iran last month and also tested positive. The jawan was helping his family during the quarantine.

Meanwhile, the Union education ministry has asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and all educational institutions in the country to postpone exams till March 31 in view of the outbreak. The order also applies to exams organised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main).

Dr Harsh Vardhan directed hospitals to ensure the adequate availability of protective gear for all healthcare workers and asked teams to visit the quarantine facilities to assess and monitor amenities. He also reviewed quarantine facilities for evacuees, including the ones at the airports and other key transit points, in terms of segregation of passengers, transportation to quarantine facilities, health checks, etc. This comes after passengers put into quarantine complained about the lack of cleanliness in quarantine centres in Delhi on Tuesday.

A day after the health ministry issued guidelines for private sector laboratories intending to initiate Covid-19 testing while appealing to them to do the tests free of cost, Swiss firm Roche Diagnostics India received a licence for conducting tests after approval from drug regulator DCGI. The Drug Controller-General of India is also assessing giving a license to another private diagnostic firm, bioMérieux, which has also sought approval to conduct tests. Officials said two Indian diagnostic companies — Trivitron Healthcare and Mylab Discovery Solution — have also sought approval from DCGI for the coronavirus testing kits developed by them.

The external affairs ministry, meawhile, told ■

One private lab gets licence for tests, more in line; CBSE, others told to defer exams till March 31