Planes flying to ensure ICMR kits to test COVID-19 reach on time: Puri

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said aircraft are crisscrossing the Indian airspace to ensure that the COVID-19 testing kits of the ICMR reach their destinations on time amidst a 21-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

In a series of tweets, the minister gave the relevant details.

"The first flight on Friday morning has already delivered 1.4 tonnes of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) kits from Delhi to Aizawl, Kolkata and Hyderabad while another such movement of ICMR kits is in progress from Mumbai to Pune, Bengaluru & Thiruvananthapuram," he wrote on Twitter.

Another aircraft is delivering the ICMR kits from Delhi to Pune and Patna, from where it will possibly bring back testing kits of a private firm to the national capital, which will then be flown to Ahmedabad, Puri said.

"In the fourth flight an ATR aircraft is delivering ICMR kits from Kolkata to Dibrugarh," he stated.

The coronavirus has claimed 19 lives in India and infected 873 people till now, according to the latest data of the Union Health Ministry.

"We are locked down, but not bogged down. Our aviation officials & professionals are working round the clock with determination & patience. The aircraft are crisscrossing the skies to ensure that ICMR kits for testing COVID-19 reach on time," Puri said.