Defective COVID-19 test kits withdrawn by ICMR

MP | 21 April 2020 | Kolkata: The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) has withdrawn the consignment of defective COVID-19 testing kits from some of the state-run laboratories in Bengal, a senior official of the medical body said on Tuesday. 

The faulty kits were replaced by those provided by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV), she said. 

The Bengal government alleged that the COVID-19 testing kits supplied by the NICED, the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) nodal agency in the state, a fortnight ago were "apparently defective" as they showed inconclusive results leading to repeated confirmatory tests and delay in diagnosis. 

The ICMR-NICED authorities said it could be possible because the kits have not been standardised and it is considering the matter "very seriously". 

"These materials (kits) had the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration, but it was learnt that these kits show error results when kept above 20 degrees Celsius. We are investigating the matter," the official said. 

Taking to Twitter, Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Youth Congress president and the party's MP, criticised the Centre for supplying faulty kits and then sending a team to monitor the performance of the state government, keeping it totally in the dark. 

Abhishek's Tuesday tweet read: "You cripple the GoWB with faulty kits from ICMR and then send IMCTs to monitor GoWB's performance with keeping the state government in the dark. 

"In the name of combating COVID-19 crisis, you're playing with the lives of Bengalis while your leaders use skewed testing numbers for fake propaganda," he added. 

Meanwhile, the five-member Central team for four South Bengal districts led by Additional Secretary in the Defence ministry Apurva Chandra landed in a controversy when they attempted to move out of the BSF Camp on Gurusaday Road to visit certain parts of Kolkata on Tuesday morning as the move was taken without proper coordination and consultation with the state government. 

Later, Chandra contacted Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha and a meeting between them got scheduled at 11 am. As Sinha got engaged in another crucial assignment, he couldn't attend the meeting. But Deputy Commissioner of Police of South-East Division Debashmita Das was sent to talk to the team members. 

Sinha, later, met IMCT members at BSF Camp at around 2 pm and assured full assistance of a local police officer during their visit to Kolkata. The team members left BSF Camp at around 4.45 pm and visited areas including Ballygunge, Gariahat-Golpark, Jadavpur, Santoshpur and Ajaynagar. 

However, earlier in the day, confusion prevailed after a statement came from Chandra saying: "I have been in touch with the Chief Secretary and seeking his support since the time I landed here. I met him on Monday. But on Tuesday, we were informed that there were some issues, so we will not be going out." 

The genesis of the stalemate emanated after a letter signed by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla was shot targeting the state government, which read: "It has been brought to the notice of this Ministry that both the IMCTs, at Kolkata and Jalpaiguri respectively, have not been provided with the requisite cooperation by the state and local authorities. In fact, they have been specifically restrained from making any visits, interacting with health professionals, and assessing the ground-level situation." 

The TMC responded to this by saying that "while states were fighting Corona, Centre was fighting states". "States, incl Bengal, going all out-fighting Corona. Unfortunately, central govt is going all out-fighting the States! Is this the spirit of federalism? Is this what our Constitution says? 

Let's make handling health emergency our priority. Politics can wait till winter," TMC leader Derek O'Brien tweeted. Apparently, there was another letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs stating that the Centre's orders are binding on the state. In connection with Bhalla's letter to him alleging non-cooperation, Sinha later told media that there was no question of non-cooperation and he urged the officials to take all precautions while visiting the sensitive areas. 

"We are extending all help. But there should have been consultation with us prior to this visit." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Monday expressed her displeasure in a series of tweets and sought to know the rationale behind the formation of Central teams to visit the states. 

She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah to share with her the criteria to be followed by the teams for the assessment of the situation, without which her government "would not be able to move ahead".

 The IMCT team in North Bengal is yet to meet the Chief Secretary as per the set protocol of the state government. This comes when the state's death toll due to COVID-19 went up to 15 with the audit committee stating that three more have died due to the virus. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the state is 274 with 29 new cases being reported in the past 24 hours. 

Two more testing laboratories at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Institute have begun on Tuesday. http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/defective-covid-19-test-kits-withdrawn-by-icmr-407671