New Delhi, April 27: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued an advisory to all states and union territories, asking them to discontinue the use of rapid test kits procured from China. The top medical body said the Centre would be facilitating the return of the kits to the China-based suppliers. The test kits were found to be failing the quality standards in the detailed evaluation conducted by ICMR. Catch all the live news updates related to coronavirus pandemic in India and other parts of the world.

The test kits were procured earlier this month from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics -- the two companies based in China. After an internal assessment found that the test kits could be faulty, the ICMR had asked the West Bengal government to stop conducting tests using the Chinese kits.  ICMR Clarifies Cost of COVID-19 Test Kits After Congress Leader Udit Raj Questions 'Inflated Price'.

This was followed by an advisory issued today, which warned all states and union territories to halt the tests being conducted using the kits procured from China. Further, all the provincial governments were directed to return the kits to the Centre as they would be dispatched back to China.

Read Advisory Issued by ICMR

"ICMR has issued an advisory to all states/UTs, urging them to discontinue using rapid antibody test kits procured from two companies in China as ICMR has found wide variations in their sensitivity in its evaluation of these kits in field conditions," the advisory stated.

The  government later clarified that no monetary losses would be faced as the payment of the rapid test kits was withheld. "It needs to be stressed that ICMR hasn't made any payment whatsoever in respect to these supplies. Because of due process followed (not going for procurement with 100 percent advance amount), Govt doesn't stand to lose a single rupee," said a statement issued by the Centre.

According to the ICMR, the swab testing of patients is the most accurate method to check for coronavirus. However, the state governments had sought the medical body's approval for procuring rapid test kits as well. The latter requires as less as 15 minutes to determine whether a person has contracted the deadly virus. With the test results not being as accurate as the swab tests, the ICMR had asked the states and UTs to use rapid test kits only for surveillance purpose.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2020 04:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).