India Coronavirus Dispatch: 64% of Uttar Pradesh villages 'Covid free'

A novel testing method by IISc-incubated startup, ICMR advises against indiscriminate use of home test kit, and more-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Over 275,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 276,110 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 25.7 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 3,874 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 287,122. The active caseload is at 3.1 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 22.3 million. As many as 187 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 1.1 million were given on Wednesday. Read more

64% of Uttar Pradesh’s villages Covid free: State govt

The Uttar Pradesh government has claimed that 64 per cent of its villages are completely free of Covid, based on the latest testing data, a report in The Indian Express said. With rural UP reporting more cases during the second wave, the government has claimed to have focused its efforts in rural areas to contain the spread of the virus. The state administration has also said a special sanitation campaign had started in rural areas to prevent the virus from spreading further, the report said. Read here

Karnataka: Staff crunch forces relatives to tend to Covid patients at a hospital

At the state-run Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences in Mandya, Karnataka, relatives have been forced to tend to Covid patients owing to a severe staff crunch, a report in ThePrint said. There were around 54 patients admitted in three of the several Covid wards. But each patient had an attendant right next to them, in violation of treatment protocols. The attendants were either sleeping on the floor in the same ward near their patients or sitting with just cloth masks on risking contracting the virus, the report said. Read more

India approves home test for Covid, to cost ₹250 per kit

India has greenlit the first home test for Covid that allows people to buy a kit that provides results within 15 minutes, a report in Hindustan Times said. The kit, which costs Rs 250 and is manufactured by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions Ltd, is a rapid antigen test (RAT). It should only be used by people who have Covid symptoms or have had close contact with an infected person. “Indiscriminate testing is not advised. All individuals who test positive may be considered as true positives and no repeat testing is required," ICMR said. Read more

New Covid testing method by IISc-incubated startup gets regulatory approval

A novel Covid test developed by a startup incubated by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has gotten regulatory approval and is expected to help detect the presence and the response of antibodies acting against coronavirus, even after vaccination, a report in The Indian Express said. Dr Navakanta Bhat, co-founder of the startup PathShodh Healthcare said that the capability to quantify the Covid antibody concentration will be key in estimating the declining antibody response over time. Read more