The Union Interior Ministry (MHA) said on Saturday that the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has increased the RT-PCR testing capacity from 27,000 tests per day to 37,200 as directed by the Union Interior Minister, Amit Shah.
Shah, on November 15, had announced a series of measures to control the coronavirus situation in Delhi. The measures announced by Shah include, among others, the duplication of RT-PCR tests and the deployment of mobile test vans belonging to the Union Ministry of Health and the ICMR, in vulnerable places in the national capital.
“ICMR has increased the RT-PCR testing capacity from 27,000 tests / day to 37,200 RT-PCR tests per day as directed by HM @AmitShah. 30,735 RT-PCR samples collected in Delhi on November 19 compared to 12,055 RT-PCR samples on November 15, ”MHA tweeted on Saturday.
Shah had also said that the medics and paramedical team of the Central Armed Police Forces will be transferred to Delhi to improve capacity. In cases of severe Covid-19 infection, protocols should be prepared to allow plasma donation, he added. The meeting was called to devise a strategy to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Delhi in the middle of the festive season.
The government has said that the total number of Covid-19 tests conducted in the country has surpassed the 130 million mark, adding that of these, the last 10 million arrived in just 10 days. “India has crossed the historical milestone of 13 million tests. The last 1 crore tests were carried out in just ten days, ”the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) tweeted on Saturday.
On Saturday, the total of Covid-19 cases in India stood at 9,050,598 after 46,232 infections were recorded in the last 24 hours, data from the Health Ministry showed. This includes 8,478,124 recovered cases, 439,747 active cases, and 132,726 deaths.
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