Over 25 lakh coronavirus tests conducted in India so far: Centre

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as on Wednesday 12:30PM had conducted over 25 lakh coronavirus tests, the nation's apex medical body said. At a media briefing, R Gangakhedkar, ICMR head scientist issued a statement saying, "Till 12.30 pm today, 25,36,156 COVID tests have been conducted in the country. Yesterday, 1,07,609 tests were conducted. The daily figure of testing since the past two days is going above one lakh,".

As of now, the total number of COVID-19 labs across the country stands at 555, of which 391 come under ICMR with 164 belonging to the private sector. Mr. Gangakhedkar further stated that out of 1,07,609 tests conducted, ICMR labs alone have conducted 89,466 tests while 18,143 had been conducted in private labs.

Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Health and Welfare too spoke about the efforts of medical officials and health experts across the country saying India is at present focused on implementing containment measures while also enforcing preventive actions such as hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and sanitation in the environment around us and also laying emphasis on physical distancing, which aids substantially to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The number of COVID-19 positive cases went past the 1,10,000 lakh mark this week with over 45,000 recoveries recorded so far across the country while the death toll has reached 3,000, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.