Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR has invited applications for validation of rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 from all manufacturers who have developed such test.

ICMR has identified seven medical and research institutes for validation of the rapid point-of-care antigen detection tests for COVID-19. These institutes are AIIMS, Delhi, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mumbai, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry and National Institute of Virology, Kerala Unit, Alappuzha. A minimum of 300 rapid antigen tests would be required for each validation.

The step has been taken in view of the upsurge in the cases of Covid-19 due to phased relaxation in lockdown. Scaling up of testing capacity to the maximum possible levels is required to deal with the present crisis.

Earlier, ICMR has recommended the use of rapid antigen test kits for diagnosis of COVID-19 in containment zones and healthcare settings in combination with the RT-PCR test.

The Government today said that the COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 57.43 per cent in the country. A total of 2,71,697 people affected with corona virus have been cured so far. During the last 24 hours, 13,012 people have recovered from COVID-19. Presently, the total number of active corona cases in the country is 1,86,514.

Health and Family Welfare Ministry said, a total of 16,922 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 4,73,105. This is the highest spike in fresh cases since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in India. 418 deaths have been reported in a single day taking the nationwide toll to 14,894.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data reveals that more than 69 per cent Covid-19 cases are from Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of recovery rate, the top five States and Union Territories are Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chandigarh,Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Madhya Pradesh wherein the recovery rate is above 76 per cent. There are 21 States and Union Territories in India, wherein the recovery rate is above the national average of cured patients.

The Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said that a total of 2,07,871 tests of corona virus samples were conducted by the various laboratories in the country within 24 hours. So far, 75,60,782 tests have been conducted. ICMR is continuously scaling up its testing facilities for COVID-19 by giving approval to government and private laboratories. As of now, total 1007 laboratories across India have been given approval to conduct the test for COVID-19. This includes 734 government laboratories and 273 private laboratories' chains.

Meanwhile, in other news, Railways has produced around two lakh Personal Protective Equipment, PPE gowns and over seven lakh masks during the lockdown period. Railways Ministry said, Railway is geared up to meet the challenge of providing protection to its front line medical workers and other operational staff persons, from the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Ministry said, Railway workshops took up the challenge and manufactured PPE coveralls, sanitizer and masks. Raw material for manufacturing of these items was also procured by the field units. PPE coverall target for the month of June and July are fixed as 1.5 lakhs each.

Ministry of Railways has designated 50 Railway Hospitals as COVID Dedicated Hospitals and COVID Dedicated Health Centers. Facilities at these hospitals were upgraded through procurement of medical equipments and other items to meet the challenge of COVID Pandemic.

The Ministry said, more than five thousand Railway coaches have already been converted to isolation coaches to serve as the Covid Care Centers to augment the capacity of health infrastructure in the country. 960 coaches have so far been placed in service at several locations based on the requests received from the States.