Covid-19 re-infection minuscule, RT-PCR certified cure reliable: Govt

 The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said number of cases of Covid-19 re-infection is very minuscule world-wide, and in the absence of any conclusive evidence, patients certified as cured through RT-PCR test are perfectly alright.

At the daily briefing, Joint Secretary, Health, Lav Agarwal, said: "Globally, number of cases of Covid-19 re-infection is very minuscule; hence, in absence of conclusive evidence, we have to surely consider that those patients who have been certified as cured as per RT-PCR - the gold standard for Covid-19 - are perfectly alright."

Citing the increase in doubling time of cases, Agarwal added that the doubling time of cornavirus cases in India was 3-3.25 days before the lockdown, and now is around 10.2 days. "This is mainly because of our focus on containment, physical distancing and lockdown measures," he added.

He insisted that if a Covid-19 patient is found to be infected at any health facility, the facility can be reused after proper disinfection procedures. Similarly, workplaces where positive patients were found can be used after proper disinfection, Agarwal added.

Earlier during the day, Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan in a meeting with Department of Biotechnology and its 18 autonomous bodies and PSUs, asked them to fast-track development of antibody detection kits, RT-PCR detection kits and Covid-19 vaccine, under the 'Make in India' initiative.

The Health Ministry said that in the last 24 hours, 1,543 new Covid-19 cases were reported, taking the total number of cases to 29,435. IANS