RT-PCR test

As per the press release issued by the Maharashtra government, people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses against Covid-19 need not carry a negative RT-PCR test report while entering Maharashtra. It also stated that the relaxation of Covid norms is applicable to domestic and international travellers. Also, the state government has extended the validity of the RT-PCR reports from 48 hours to 72 hours.

Manoj Gopalkrishnan, a professor at Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay, has invented 'Tapestry', a cheap and time-saving COVID testing tool. However, the professor had earlier thought about this invention during the swine flu pandemic in 2009. In a collaboration with 10 of his colleagues, the professor developed it in two months. Recently, Tapestry got its approval from Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) for commercial usage.

Taking precautionary measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, Pakistan has put a travel ban on 26 countries, including India. These countries are kept under the “C” category, where people can travel under specific NCOC guidelines. Countries under “A” category are exempted from the compulsory Covid-19 test whereas people traveling from countries under “B” category will need a… read-more

Drugmaker Cipla has announced that its real-time COVID-19 testing kit 'ViraGen' will be available in the market from May 25. "This will help address the current testing services and capacity issues," said Cipla. The ICMR-approved RT-PCR kit has been developed to increase the COVID testing rate across the country. The kit can detect coronavirus with the sensitivity of 98.6% and the specificity of 98.8% on ICMR's standard scale.

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar notified all interstate travellers to Bengaluru should mandatorily present a negative RT-PCR test report from April 1. Reportedly, the decision was made immediately after Union Health Ministry labelled Bengaluru as the only city outside Maharashtra with the highest number of cases. Moreover, quarantine stamping and the Quarantine watch app will be re-implemented to contain the infections. Notably, … read-more