(TibetanReview.net, Apr13’20) – China has diverted to the United States a consignment of 400,000 Covid-19 rapid-test kits ordered by the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, leading to delay in its planned lunch of the tests on Apr 10. The state has India’s third highest number of infections from the novel Coronavirus pandemic after Maharashtra and Delhi.
The state’s Chief Secretary Dr K Shanmugam told the media Apr 11 that China’s failure to stick to its promised delivery schedule had delayed the State’s planned launch of the test, reported India Today.
The state’s current stock of 15,000 test kits does not produce results quickly enough. It therefore planned to go for rapid testing as the number of people found to be positive for the pandemic infection has been rising rapidly.
The state currently has 1,043 cases, of whom 50 have been cured and 11 have died.
Nearly 90 per cent of the cases (859) as of Apr 11 evening had been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat Aalami Marzkaz Nizamuddin congregations held in Delhi last month, reported swarajyamag.com Apr 12. In Delhi too, the congregation is the source of a major portion of the infections.
The rapid tests will help health officials to detect if a person has Coronavirus in 30 minutes.
Test kits ordered from China by several countries, including in Europe, have been rejected for giving faulty results.
