India To Procure 5 Lakh Coronavirus Testing Kits From South Korea, Says MEA As Rapid Kits From China Fail

India is going to import 5 lakh Coronavirus testing kits from South Korea, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday (23 April), news agency ANI tweeted.

According to Srivastava, Indian Mission in South Korea has signed a contract on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with a Korean company to procure the kits.

The development comes only a few days after the ICMR asked state authorities to stop using the rapid testing kits that were reportedly found to be faulty. India had recently imported 5 lakh such kits from China.

While briefing the media, ICMR's chief scientist, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar said, “We have received complaints from a state yesterday therefore today we asked two more states if they also experienced the same problem.”

“Therefore we have advised states to halt the use of rapid testing kits for two days.”

Srivastava also told in last two weeks, India has imported nearly 400 tonnes of medical supplies, including RT-PCR test kits, Rapid Antibody Tests, PPE kits, thermometers among other items in around two dozen flights from China.

“Around 20 more flights are expected to bring supplies from China in the coming days, and this is likely to be stepped up considerably in the next few months as our procurement efforts gain momentum,” he added.