Coronavirus | ICMR tells states to stop using and return the Chinese rapid testing kits

The leading health body in the country for the coronavirus treatments, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), has asked the state governments to return the rapid antibody testing kits due to non-satisfactory results. The Centre had acquired over 5 lakh testing kits from two Chinese companies - Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics - with the ICMR ordering for testing to be halted last week owing to inconsistencies in the results that were being carried out by medical and health officials across various states in the country.

The ICMR had stated that variations were noticed in the results that were being shown in the rapid testing kits acquired from the manufacturers, Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics. Furthermore, the ICMR in a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories has informed that it approves of the swab RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test to identify the presence of the coronavirus in the human body and is "the best use for diagnosis" at an early stage.