Amid rise in coronavirus cases, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, who recently retired as Head of Epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said that the testing capacity is still low and more COVID-19 tests should be conducted.
According to a report Lokmat, Dr Gangakhedkar said that from day one we have not used our full potential when it comes to testing patients. At present 2.8 lakh tests are being done daily. He also said that given the current number of patients we have enough beds, but time may come when we might shortfall of beds for COVID-19 patients. He appealed to people who have symptoms to come and get them tested.
Dr Gangakhedkar represented ICMR in national press briefings and updated journalists on research developments related to COVID-19 in India by breaking down complex scientific data to make them easier for the general public to understand.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive two-phase lockdown has started in Maharashtra’s Pune from Monday and will continue till July 23 in yet another attempt to break the chain of the coronavirus infections.
Pune district reported 1,333 new coronavirus cases - highest single-day spike - taking the tally close to the 40,000-mark on Monday, while 23 more patients succumbed to the infection. With 1,333 new coronavirus cases recorded in the last 24 hours, the count in the western Maharashtra district rose to 39,835.
Of the 1,333 cases, 759 were reported from Pune Municipal Corporation limits, where the tally rose to 27,986 patients. While, with 384 cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad's COVID-19 count now stands at 7899.
