Priyanka Gandhi asks Govt to issue 'large-scale testing' to yield lockdown results

As India continues to grapple with rising COVID-19 cases, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stated that it was 'imperative' for India to ramp up its rate of testing in order to gain valuable information about the severity of the pandemic. According to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday, there are 2322 active COVID19 cases in the country. Out of this,162 people have recovered while 62 others have succumbed. The nation is currently in a 21-day lockdown period.

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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra suggested that in order for this lockdown to 'yield results', it needed to be backed by "large scale testing and other measures to support the medical infrastructure systems in this country." "The government must act now," she added. 

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ICMR advises use of rapid anti-body testing

The Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) on Friday issued an advisory recommending the use of rapid anti-body tests in Coronavirus hotspots for the fast detection of positive cases. The Union Health Ministry has stated that it has identified 20 existing and 22 potential hotspots of the COVID-19. The Ministry informed that although there has been no case of community transmission yet, large human resources would be required to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Read: ICMR Approves Rapid-antibody Testing For Populations In Coronavirus Hotspot Areas