The Union health ministry on Thursday said there is no need to panic over the availability of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE), but stressed these should be used rationally.
Joint Secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said at the daily briefing that 20 companies are manufacturing PPE in India and orders for 1.7 crore PPE have already been placed with them.
Since Wednesday, 540 cases of the coronavirus infection and 17 deaths due to it have been reported, he said.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in India is 5,734 and 166 people have died due to the disease, he said.
According to an ICMR official, 1,30,000 samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far in country.
"No need to believe any rumour or have any fear regarding PPE. Our guidelines state that not only PPE should be made available, but they should be used rationally," Agarwal said
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