India's COVID-19 testing capacity 10 lakh per day through 1,524 labs: ICMR DG
Aug 25, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 25 : India's testing capacity has increased significantly from 10 tests to 10 lakh tests per day and all ministries have worked to achieve this, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here, Dr Bhargava said 1,524 testing labs in the country have a capacity of conducting one million tests per day and the number of testing kits made in the country has also gone up significantly.
"This week we have touched the one million mark and how we have reached one million from one test in January in the last six months, it has been a calibrated effort. It has been a combined effort and India has worked together and all the ministries have worked to achieve this number. Our COVID-19 testing capacity has increased significantly - from 10 tests per day on January 30 to 10 Lakh tests per day on August 21," he said.
Dr Bhargava said throughput machines, which have a larger capacity for tests, have also been installed in some cities.
He said with Indian startups coming forward, a large number of indigenous kits have been deployed which have brought down the cost of COVID-19 testing.
"RT-PCR testing kits used to cost around Rs 2000 in March, now it is Rs 300 approximately," he said.
Referring to vaccines, he said three COVID-19 vaccines are ahead in the race in India.
He said the vaccine for which tests are being done by Serum Institute is in phase 2 (b) and phase 3 trials and Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila's vaccines have completed phase one trial.
