Testing per million touches 8994; low-cost kit launched
NEW DELHI: More than 3.2 lakh samples were tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest so far on a day, taking the cumulative number of tests conducted in the country till July 14 to 1,24,12,664, the Indian Council of Medical Research said. The Union Health Ministry said the testing per million for India is consistently rising and has touched 8994.7 on Wednesday. "A total of 3,20,161 samples were tested on Tuesday, the highest so far conducted in a day," Scientist and media coordinator at the ICMR, Dr Lokesh Sharma, said.
According to Worldometer, India had recorded about 9.56 lakh cases as on Wednesday evening, with over 19,000 new cases. So far, over 24,700 people have fallen prey to the virus in the country.
There was more good news on the testing front. Claimed to be the world's most affordable diagnostic kit for coronavirus, a low-cost test kit developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi was launched on Wednesday. According to IIT officials, the base price of the RT-PCR assay is Rs 399. Even after adding the RNA isolation and laboratory charges, the cost per test will go up to Rs 650 and will be considerably cheaper compared to currently available kits in the market.
UP hits 45K-a-day mark on tests
Uttar Pradesh tested more than 45,000 samples for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest single-day tests conducted by any state, said a top official. "Yesterday [Tuesday] we tested more than 45,000 samples for Covid-19. This is the highest test conducted by any state in a single day. Our positivity still lies below 4 per cent," said Alok Kumar, secretary to the CM.
Goa: Night curfew, 3-day lockdown
In the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday announced a night curfew in the state from Wednesday night (July 15) to August 10 apart from total shutdown of non-essential public movement on the coming weekend starting Thursday night. Violators would be sent to jail, he warned. "People should have been more careful."
Nod to 1rst homegrown pneumonia vaccine The country's first fully indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia has got approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. The drug regulator reviewed the phase I, II and III clinical trial data submitted by Pune-based firm Serum Institute of India and then granted the market approval for Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine, said officials. The vaccine is administered in an intramuscular manner.
Teen dies after 4 hospitals deny admission The parents of an 18-year-old boy turned to the Calcutta HC on Tuesday alleging medical negligence, following the death of their son after being turned away by four hospitals.