Shah's Intervention Made ICMR Increase Testing

After the first case was detected on January 30, all samples were sent only to NIV, Pune, but now more labs are on the job

- Vijaita Singh & Jacob Koshy

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) expanded the number of laboratories that could conduct COVID-19 tests on an intervention by the Union Home Minister, The Hindu has learnt.

After the first COVID-19 positive case was detected on January 30, all samples were sent only to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. As cases surged and a need was felt to ramp up testing, the ICMR was asked to enable more laboratories to conduct the tests.

Owing to multiple factors, including paucity of kits, the ICMR follows strict guidelines before samples are collected from a person showing symptoms.

At a meeting in March, Home Minister Amit Shah asked ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava to include more facilities that could carry out the tests, or else the responsibility would be given to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). On March 17, the ICMR activated 72 more laboratories to test for COVID-19 and revised the testing criteria for the same.