Just 2 pc of 16,002 COVID-19 tests have come out positive: Health Ministry

Over 16 thousand tests for COVID-19 were conducted in the country, out of which just two per cent results came out positive, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

"Yesterday 16,002 tests were conducted in the country, and the news is that just two per cent cases were found positive out of them. This figure might vary from day to day, but the infection rate is not being found to be too high. We have also sanctioned rapid diagnostic kits," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, said at a press conference here.

The Joint Secretary appealed to the people to come forward and report to the authorities if any of them or their contacts showed symptoms of the disease.

"It is not the fight of the government alone. It is a fight of the society and the government. We can win this only if we fight collectively," said Aggarwal.

"Our biggest strength in the fight against COVID-19 is our frontline health workers. Even one incident against them can hurt their morale and strength. I appeal to you that none of us commits any act by which morale of our frontline Corona Warriors is affected," he added.

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, MHA and Dammu Ravi, AS and Coordinator [COVID-19], MEA, and an official from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) were also present at the press briefing.