India has cancelled orders given to two Chinese companies for providing Covid-19 test kits after finding them faulty in field conditions, said the government on Monday. Not a single rupee will be lost to the companies, it said.
States must stop using rapid antibody test kits procured from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), according to news agency IANS. "The results showed wide variation in their sensitivity, despite early promise of good performance for surveillance purposes," it said in a statement.
"In view of this, states are advised to stop using these kits procured from the above-mentioned companies and return them to be sent back to the suppliers."
ICMR had provided rapid antibody test kits to states with instructions that they be used for surveillance alone. However, Rajasthan and West Bengal complained that the new test kits had only 5.4 per cent accuracy. Opposition parties, too, questioned the government's purchase as well.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that some people were indulging in profiteering while supplying rapid test kits for COVID-19 to the government and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take immediate action against them.
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 "covid-19 test, coronavirus testing")