28,941 samples tested on April 15, says ICMR; WHO lauds health ministry

Continuing its fight against coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said a total of 2,74,599 samples have been tested for Covid-19 detection so far, with 28,941 samples being tested on Wednesday. 

The samples were taken from 2,58,730 individuals which is lower than the samples tested because many suspected patients were tested more than once, according to the statement released by ICMR.

On April 15, till 9 p.m., 28,941 samples have been reported, out of which 953 were found positive for Covid-19.

"At least 11,297 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases in India," it said.

ICMR has also issued a list of 176 government laboratories and 78 private laboratories for the coronavirus testing.

Delhi has 8 government labs, including AIIMS, Lady Hardinge Medical College, National Centre for Disease Control, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences, Army Hospital Research & Referral, Maulana Azad Medical College, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.

Other than Delhi, there are 17 in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Karnataka, 10 in Kerala, nine in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, eight in Rajasthan, seven in Andhra Pradesh, five in Assam and Bihar among others.

The private laboratories include nine in Delhi, including Lal Path Labs, Rohini, Dr Dangs Lab, Safdarjung Development Area, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Sarita Vihar, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Oncquest Labs, Prognosis Laboratories, City X-Ray & Scan Clinic and Lifeline Laboratory.

Haryana has six such labs, all in Gurugram, including Strand Life Sciences, SRL Limited, Modern Diagnostic & Research Centre, ACore Diagnostics, MolQ Laboratory and Pathkind Diagnostics.

Maharashtra has 17 such laboratories, Telangana has 12, Tamil Nadu at 10, West Bengal at six, Uttar Pradesh has two, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh have only one each.

Meanwhile, according to a release by the Andhra Pradesh CMO, the government is gearing up to double the number of Covid-19 tests and bring it up to 4,000 in a day, news agency ANI reported. As of now, more than 2,100 tests are being conducted on a daily basis in the state.

According to the release, CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed officials to conduct rapid testing "taking every Mandal as a unit" in the state.

Appreciating the work done by ICMR, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday lauded India's collaboration with the World Health Organisation in the systematic engagement of polio surveillance network across the country to fight against coronavirus.

In a series of tweets, Ghebreyesus said, "Great news: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organisation-South-East Asia initiated a systematic engagement of the WHO's national polio surveillance network, and other field staff, for India's COVID-19 response, tapping into the best practices and resources that helped India win its war against polio."

The WHO chief also thanked India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for his leadership and engagement with the UN body to fight the global crisis.

On economic front, a day after International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted India's growth rate to be 1.9 per cent in 2020, the lending agency on Wednesday said it supported the proactive decisions taken by the Indian government in the fight against coronavirus.

"Despite the economic slowdown, the government implemented a nationwide lockdown and we support India's proactive decision," said Chang Yong Rhee, the Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.

India entered a three-week lockdown on March 25, which was slated to end on April 14, but later was extended till May 3.