Rapid testing kits of COVID-19 despatched from China's Guangzhou to India

A total of 6.5 lakh medical kits for rapid testing of COVID-19 has been despatched from Guangzhou Airport in China and is set to reach India later on Thursday, government sources said today.

"Rapid Antibody Testing Kits (first lot of 3 lakh from Guangzhou Wondfo and 2.5 lakh from Zhuhai Livzon) and RNA Extraction Kits (1 lakh from MGI Shenzhen), all custom cleared late last night have left this morning for India," sources told ANI.

"In total, 6.5 lakh kits are its way; they should reach today. Our Embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Guangzhou played a key role," they added.

This morning, India's ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, tweeted the same saying medical kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched from Guangzhou to India.

"#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India," he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, have time and again, reiterated that India is critically facing a shortage of COVID-19 testing kits.

"India delayed the purchase of testing kits and is now critically short of them. With just 149 tests per million Indians, we are now in the company of Laos (157), Niger (182) and Honduras (162). Mass testing is the key to fighting the virus. At present we are nowhere in the game," Gandhi said in a tweet on Tuesday.

As a result, numerous state governments across India have started manufacturing testing kits to meet the demand.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), earlier this month, also said it had placed an order for 5 lakh rapid antibody testing kits for conducting COVID-19 tests. The body had then said that some 2.5 lakh kits were to be delivered by April 9.

With 941 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's coronavirus tally crossed the 12,000 mark with the tally reading at 12,380 cases, according to the official estimate by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total tally, 10,477 patients are active cases while 1,489 patients have been cured, discharged and migrated.

With 37 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the country's death toll has risen to 414.

(ANI)

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