In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the Centre on Saturday decided to put restrictions on the export of diagnostic kits with immediate effect.
In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said, “The export of diagnostic kits is restricted with immediate effect.”
The diagnostic kits include diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents etc.
The DGFT further said that the restriction would help in dealing with the present crisis as the kits are required for testing of patients.
The Centre is also trying to boost the healthcare infrastructure to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
It is also trying to increase the number of protective equipment to facilitate the fight against COVID-19.
Sharing shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said, “We have only 7000-8000 PPE kits left and this will last 2-3 days.”
He further said that the Delhi government has demanded another 50,000 PPE kits on an urgent basis.
As per reports, New Delhi is now the third most affected state/UT in the country with Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu at the first and the second spot respectively.