India gets its own Covid-19 testing kit

India on Tuesday got its own testing kit for the deadly novel coronavirus, which has been wreaking havoc over the world. A Pune-based molecular diagnostic company Mylab has becomes the first Indian company to have received the validation for its Covid-19 diagnostic test kits. It has received its commercial approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The laboratory is expecting the first batch to be out by Wednesday — March 25.

The other company to have received the approval is Germany's Altona Diagnostics.

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The coronavirus tally has crossed the 500-mark in India — with the first case coming to light from the North East on Tuesday.

Over 30 fresh cases of Covid-19 were reported from across the country on Tuesday, taking the number to536.

Mylab's turn around time is 2-1/2 hours as opposed to current lab based testing time (4 hours). Mylabs is looking to price its kits around INR 1200.

According to WHO, India is testing 15 people in 1 million — one of the lowest.

India had earlier limited the tests only for patients with travel history and those who are "suspected cases" of Covid-19. But the ICMR lately reworked its strategy. It said all hospitalised patients with severe acute respiratory illness, shortness of breath and having fever and cough will now be tested forCOVID-19infection. The newICMRguidelines also said asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between day 5 and day 14 of coming in his/her contact.

India has so far witnessed cases of COVID-19 mostly related to travel and local transmission from imported cases. Community transmission of the disease has not been documented till now.