Around 5 lakh Rapid Test kits were procured by the government and distributed around the country after the ICMR recommended that every resident in coronavirus hot-spots — or areas with a large number of cases — will be tested for the virus. It was decided to use fast-track kits as the regular RT-PCR tests are slow and have to be conducted in laboratories. Many states in the country do not have adequate testing facilities.All states have been asked not to use the new rapid antibody test for COVID-19 for two days. The Indian Council Of Medical Research, the country’s nodal body in the fight against coronavirus, which issued the order, said it would investigate the issue of faulty rapid testing kits and would “definitely not ignore this defect”.
