The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi has assured the Indian government it will provide the necessary assistance after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) suddenly ordered states to stop rapid tests for two days following complaints about variations in results.
"China attaches great importance to the quality of exported medical products. Will keep close communication with Indian concerned agency and provide necessary assistance", Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi said
Earlier on Tuesday, ICMR stopped the use of rapid testing kits imported from China, while adding that it will issue an advisory after medical teams carry out field validation of the kits.
The ICMR was planning to hold the survey in 80 districts across 25 states around the country with these rapid testing kits to analyse whether the transmission of the coronavirus had reached the third stage (community transmission level).
Earlier this month, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi had advised foreign buyers to choose products certified by Chinese regulatory authorities and “with production qualifications when importing relevant products”. India earlier procured 1.5 million rapid-test kits from China to expedite the testing of COVID-19 in a country of 1.3 billion.
Government sources in New Delhi said that ICMR had ordered the rapid kits from Chinese vendors directly, noting, however, the vendors were authorised by the Chinese regulatory body.
Data released by the Indian Health Ministry on Wednesday morning confirmed a total 19,984 COVID-19 positive cases with 1,383 new cases in the last 24 hours.