COVID-19: Government cancels all non-essential leaves of Central Armed Police Forces

In an attempt to contain the novel Coronavirus' spread, the government on Wednesday cancelled all non-essential leaves of the Central Armed Forces. The step aims at preventing the forces from contracting the virus while travelling. So far, 152 positive cases and 3 deaths have been reported in the country. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry on Wednesday informed that India is still battling Stage 2 of the Coronavirus outbreak and that the pandemic hasn't quite reached Stage 3 just yet.

ICMR announces 49 additional laboratories

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which is the apex body for the coordination, formulation, and promotion of biometrical research, also informs that  49 additional laboratories and organizations like CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)  DRDO ( Defence Research and Development Organisation), (Department of Biotechnology) DBT to be activated by the end of this week.

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So far the council has equipped as many as 72 laboratories to test for the pandemic disease. ICMR will be setting up two testing locations, NCR and Bhubaneswar for high throughput diagnostic systems for exponentially increasing rapid diagnosing of Covid-19. The systems can test up to 1,400 samples per day. They are also having dialogues with high-quality private labs to understand the modalities of increasing access to prepare for the future.

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Coronavirus crisis

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to 152. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. Along with it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15.

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First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 148 countries in the world. Presently, there are over 182,723 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 7,174 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus.

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