A recent change in the Chinese policy has resulted in the delay of rapid test kits that were supposed to be arriving in the state on the 12th of April. This change has not only affected Karnataka but also the other states that have ordered the kits from the Chinese company.
Speaking to a media house, Dr. CN Manjunath, nodal officer for COVID-19 testing in the state of Karnataka, said that The Chinese have recently changed a policy making it mandatory for every consignment going from the country to be endorsed by the government. This has delayed the rapid antibody test kits the state had ordered. The test kits were set to arrive on Saturday. He further said,
“We are constantly in touch with our ambassador, Vikram Misri, and he is talking to his Chinese counterpart to release the consignments as soon as possible. We don’t know the exact date by which the consignments will be released from Hong Kong Airport. The agency (Sensing Self Pvt Limited) said it will arrive here within 2-3 days. The entire quality clearance and other necessary clearances have been arranged already. Only the Chinese FDA (Food and Drug Administration) [National Medical Products Administration] has to give the clearance.”
Rapid Test Kit to deliver results in 15 minutes
Even though the Company is of Singapore origin, the products need to be shipped from Hong Kong. It is also being said that the problem is not only restricted to Karnataka but also to other states that have ordered from the same company. Apart from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala too have ordered similar consignments. Once the Chinese FDA approves it, the kits will arrive in Bengaluru within 6 hours.
The policy change made by China is after a few European countries like Spain complaining about the sub-standard kits purchased from China. Karnataka was first among the Indian states to go for mass testing as it ordered over 1 lakh kits from the Sensing Self Private Limited.
The rapid test kits are supposed to deliver the results in 15 minutes as opposed to the current test that will take 24 hours. On the economic front too, the rapid test kits are cheaper than the current test kits. The rapid test kits cost 800 Rupees. THE ICMR has also placed an order of 2.5 lakh kits that will be then distributed to states based on the requirement.
Source: The News Minute
