India lost time in race to keep coronavirus health staff safe, say groups

As the coronavirus spread across Asia in February, Indian manufacturers of personal protective equipment contacted the health ministry urging the government to stock up.

They got no response, according to Sanjeev Relhan and Rajiv Nath, the heads of two health-sector manufacturing associations.

They and other manufacturers now say such poor communication led to the squandering of precious time in the race to protect health workers fighting the coronavirus.

The health ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

India has reported 724 cases of the coronavirus including 17 deaths and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has locked down the entire country for three weeks