India crosses 6 crore mark in COVID-19 testing; 11,36,613 samples tested in single day: ICMR

India has crossed the six crore mark in conducting tests for detection of COVID-19, with 6,05,65,728 samples having been examined till September 16, the Indian Council of Medical Research said on Thursday. India has conducted last two crore sample testing in only 20 days," the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said. This has been enabled by rapidly increasing testing infrastructure and capacity across the country.

India has crossed the six crore mark in conducting tests for detection of COVID-19, with 6,05,65,728 samples having been examined till September 16, the Indian Council of Medical Research said on Thursday. As on August 28, India had tested 4,04,06,609 COVID-19 samples, it said.

With an average testing of more than 10 lakh per day in the last 20 days, India has tested 6,05,65,728 samples across the country till September 16. "As on Wednesday, 11,36,613 samples were tested for detection of COVID-19 in a single day. India has conducted last two crore sample testing in only 20 days," the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

This has been enabled by rapidly increasing testing infrastructure and capacity across the country. The total number of diagnostic labs in the country has reached 1,751. Of which dedicated government laboratories are 1,059 and private laboratories 692. "The ICMR has successfully responded to the evolving epidemic through focused and collaborative efforts of the Centre, states and UT governments," the health research body said.

India has been aggressively implementing "testing, tracking and treating'' strategy efficiently across the country. Recently, increasing number of cases were reported from states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Naidu. ICMR is enhancing testing capacity in these states, it said. "ICMR has been regularly assessing the situation and responding by revising testing strategy," it said.

In its latest advisory on COVID-19 testing strategy, 'Testing on Demand' for individuals has been allowed. The state/UTs have been allowed to simplify the modalities to facilitate testing on demand. A record single-day increase of 97,894 cases pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 51,18,253, while the death toll climbed to 83,198 with the virus claiming 1,132 lives in a span of 24 hours, the health ministry data updated at 8 am on Thursday showed.