'Chinese materials are full of sawdust': Sena slams Centre over faulty Covid testing kits

Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday questioned the Central government over the Rapid Testing Kits ordered from China. In its editorial, Sena said that the Central government in its policy made clear that the states will depend on the Centre for medical materials but the first consignment of 20 lakh rapid testing kits from China is faulty and of no use. Sena also said that the US President calls the coronavirus as 'Chinese Virus' but we still chose to trust China over the materials. 

"As per the Central government's policy, the states should rely on the Centre for materials needed in the war against the Coronavirus... but how will this war be won, since the Chinese materials are full of sawdust? The first batch of rapid testing kits ordered by the Modi government to China turned out to be useless. When the Chinese goods finally went to the wreckage, the Center had to inform the states to use the kits made by the National Institute of Virology in Pune instead of the current bogus kits!" the editorial mentioned.

"It's no coincidence that Trump is calling it the 'China virus'. Because of China, the world has plunged into a crisis. Nobel laureate scientists claim that the Coronavirus, which spread from China to the rest of the world, is man-made. There is no certainty as to what China will do next. Despite this, nations like India are taking large quantities of rapid test kits of the COVID-19 from China. And in a way, we are working to strengthen China's economy. That is why it is time for us to dispose of millions of rapid test kits purchased from China," it further added.

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Further slamming China for its faulty kits Sena said, "Maharashtra has received 75,000 Chinese rapid test kits from the Center. Rapid tests started in corona hot spots like Dharavi, but the Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration asked them to stop the rapid tests immediately. Because Chinese goods were scrapped. Not only in Maharashtra but all over the country, complaints about rapid test kits started coming. All this confusion is raising concerns about Corona. It is a confusion that shows how serious we are in this battle and how there is no unanimity in the decision. It is shocking that China, which cannot be trusted, and which has plunged the world into an epidemic, must join hands to fight the same virus."
 
"The first consignment of 20 lakh rapid testing kits ordered by the Modi government to China turned out to be useless. The question is, how did the Modi government make such a big mistake during the Corona War? These kits make the mistake of showing a corona positive patient as negative or negative patient as positive. This will only increase the infection," they added.

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ICMR directs state govts to not use rapid testing kits

The ICMR on Tuesday directed the state governments to not use the rapid testing kits for the next two days. The development came after various states complained about the accuracy of the aforesaid kits. Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, Dr.Raman Gangakhedkar- the head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at ICMR conceded that there was a significant variation in the positive RT-PCR samples.

At the same time, he observed that tests might be in a crude form as only three and a half months had passed since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Dr.Gangakhedkar announced that the ICMR would try to validate the kits in the field instead of laboratories in the coming two days and issue a detailed advisory subsequently. 

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