A consignment of 5,50,000 antibody testing kits and 100,000 RNA extraction kits was dispatched by Chinese firms to India on Thursday morning for use in the country’s efforts to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, people familiar with developments said.
The consignment includes part of the large orders placed by India for medical supplies and equipment with Chinese firms, the people said.
The external affairs ministry has been playing a key role in coordinating the government’s efforts to acquire vital medical supplies from other countries, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
“As part of these efforts, the first lot of 3,00,000 rapid antibody testing kits from Guangzhou Wondfo and another 2,50,000 from Zhuhai Livzon and 1,00,000 RNA extraction kits from MGI Shenzhen were custom cleared late on Wednesday night,” said one of the people cited above.
“The consignment left this (Thursday) morning for India,” the person said. “The total of 6,50,000 kits is on the way and should reach today (Thursday).”
The Indian embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Guangzhou played a key role in the despatch of the medical equipment.
On Tuesday, India’s ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, had told reporters that facilitating India’s imports of Covid-19-related critical medical equipment and keeping the drug production supply chain open would be the “best” signal from China for bilateral ties.
