1,189 samples tested positive for variants

RTPCR tests did not miss U.K., Brazil, South Africa and Double Mutant variants: Ministry

April 16, 2021 10:19 pm | Updated 10:19 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The Health Ministry on Friday said that so far 1,189 samples had tested positive for variants of concern for SARS CoV-2 in India. These include 1,109 samples with U.K. variants; 79 samples with the South African variant and 1 sample with the Brazil variant.

The Ministry said the RTPCR tests being used in India did not miss the U.K., Brazil, South Africa and Double Mutant variants.

“Indian Genomic Consortium for COVID-19 has shared the genome sequencing data with States multiple times and has so far processed more than 13,000 samples,” noted the release.

Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Friday noted that the Department of Pharmaceuticals and NPPA were continuously monitoring the production of Remdesivir.

“The production has gone up from 28 lakh vials per month to 41 lakh vials per month during the last week,” he said.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday reviewed the preparedness of the AIIMS, Delhi, in the light of recent surge of cases in the Capital.

COVID-appropriate behaviour was the biggest social tool to break the transmission chain, said the Minister

“We defeated the virus when we did not know much about it and we can do it again,” said Dr. Vardhan.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.