Over 73.5 lakh samples tested for COVID-19 in India till June 23: ICMR
New Delhi: Over 73.5 lakh samples have been tested for COVID-19 till June 23, of which 2.15 lakh were examined on Tuesday, the highest in a day since the beginning of the pandemic, ICMR officials said on Wednesday.
The apex health research body on Tuesday validated the 1,000th testing laboratory, ramping up the capacity for detection of COVID-19 in the country. Currently, three lakh samples can be tested per day, an official said.
"A cumulative total of 73,52,911 samples have been tested up to June 23, with 2,15,195 samples being tested on Tuesday," the ICMR said.
Of the 1,000 COVID-19 testing laboratories, 730 are in government setups while 270 are in the private sector. This includes RT-PCR labs (557), TrueNat Labs (363) and CBNAAT Labs (80).
"However, in spite of these developments, access to testing still remains a huge challenge in a large country like India. There is a definite need to increase the outreach of testing by introducing rapid point of care diagnostic tests," the ICMR noted in its advisory issued on Tuesday.
Also, there is value in conducting serosurvey with IgG-based antibody tests in certain situations, it said.
In view of this, it is now suggested to include additional testing methods to improve access and availability of testing in various parts of the country, the health research body said.
The real-time RT-PCR is the gold standard test for detecting cases of COVID-19 and the average time taken is around 4-5 hours from receipt of sample to getting the result.
"The advantage of this platform lies in its accuracy of detection as well as ability to run up to 90 samples in a single run. In view of the requirement of a specialised laboratory setup, this test cannot be performed at every district-level lab which does not have molecular virology facilities," the ICMR said.
The TrueNat and the CBNAAT systems have also been deployed for diagnosis of COVID-19 in view of availability of customised cartridges.
These platforms have widespread availability even at district and primary health centre levels as these are widely used for diagnosis of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. These platforms have a quick turnaround time (30-60 minutes) but only one-four samples can be tested in one run, limiting the maximum number that can be tested to 24-48 samples per day only, the ICMR said.
The ICMR recently also approved the use of rapid-antigen test for coronavirus infection that gives results in 30 minutes.
It has recommended deployment of rapid antigen detection test for COVID-19 in combination with the RT-PCR test in all containment zones, central and state government medical colleges and government hospitals, private hospitals approved by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH), and all NABL-accredited and ICMR-approved private labs for COVID-19 testing.
It has also advised that the rapid antibody test for COVID-19 should be performed only for surveillance purposes, and not diagnosis, to help allay fears and anxiety of healthcare workers and employees.
The IgG antibodies generally start appearing after two weeks of onset of the infection once the individual has recovered, and these last for several months.
It can be used to conduct serosurvey to understand the proportion of the population exposed to infection with SARS-CoV-2, including asymptomatic individuals, and to carry out survey in high-risk or vulnerable populations (healthcare workers, frontline workers, immunocompromised individuals, individuals in containment zones etc) to know who had been infected in the past and has now recovered.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
