ICMR to take up coronavirus rapid testing in Telangana to assess spread

Hyderabad/New Delhi: ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has decided to conduct rapid antibodies test in Telangana to assess the spread of the coronavirus in general population and also the trend of seroprevalence ( number of persons in a population who test positive for a specific disease based on serology (blood serum) specimen) against the infection in the country. Also, a Hyderabad company was given the Centre's go-ahead to create a drug for immunoglobulin treatment of Covid-19 patients. It is learnt that this company is owned by son-in-law of TRS MP, Ranjith Reddy.

When contacted about ICMR's rapid testing decision, Telangana health department officials stated that they are not aware of any such decision Meanwhile, a lab technician from government hospital in Gadwal was found to be Covid-19 positive. However, no doctor from a government hospital has tested positive so far in the state.