Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Soaring Covid self-test kit sales fuel India underreporting fears

Soaring Covid self-test kit sales fuel India underreporting fears

BOOMING sales of home self-test kits for Covid are prompting Indian authorities to tighten the rules around their sale and fuelling long-held fears of underreporting as cases surge.

In the last seven days, India recorded more than 1.9 million new infections -- an increase of 57 per cent on the previous week, according to reports.


Experts have long worried that actual infections and deaths could be much higher in the country of 1.4 billion people due to widespread underreporting.

Self-test kit manufacturers and pharmacies have reported a surge in demand, particularly in bigger cities and towns.

But with not all kit users believed to be sharing their results, some authorities -- including in the crowded financial hub Mumbai -- are calling on people to report if they test positive and for pharmacists and manufacturers of self-test equipment to report sales and customers' details.

Leading local producer Mylab Discovery Solutions, which released the country's first home test kit last year, has said it ramped up production this month from a base of 200,000 kits a day to two million.

"Whatever we are manufacturing is going into the market immediately," said Mylab's serology head Shrikant Pawar.

Experts said demand has been fuelled by the lower cost of the kit, which retails at Rs 250 ($3.40), as well as results in 15 minutes instead of the more accurate PCR test's 24-48 hours.

Some 13 to 16 million tests are recorded by the ICMR every day, but there are no nationwide figures for the sales or use of self-test kits.

Authorities in Mumbai, home to 20 million people, said 125,000 residents have shared their self-test results with the government since new reporting rules were imposed a week ago.

The city is also trying to keep tabs on asymptomatic contacts, even though national health authorities recently recommended that testing is only required for people showing symptoms after exposure to positive cases.

"Mumbai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. So suppose a single person is positive, he may infect 20-30 people," sai Mumbai's additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani.

"So even if they are asymptomatic... we should isolate them so that further spread can be checked."

Mumbai saw daily cases surge above 20,000 two weeks ago before flattening to less than half that figure in recent days, but officials warn hospitalisations could rise in coming weeks.

"You're seeing test positivity in the big cities in India typically somewhere between 30 and 50 percent," said Gautam Menon, a professor at India's Ashoka University who has worked on Covid infection modelling.

"It's an obvious indication that we're not counting cases accurately. We're now somewhat far away from understanding the true measure of Covid-19 in India."

(AFP)

More For You

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

Prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (22)

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

INDIA’S prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Tuesday (22) for his third visit as prime minister to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

The trip came a day after Modi held talks with US vice-president JD Vance in India, with New Delhi looking to seal a trade deal with Washington and stave off punishing tariffs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

Samina Mahroof, a cutter at the JW Plant Flag Company works on flag orders ahead of the VE Day 80th anniversary on March 18, 2025 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

TEN surviving Second World War veterans, including three from the British Indian Army, have written an open letter urging people across the UK to come together and remember the sacrifices made during the war.

Launched on Wednesday (23) by the /Together Coalition, the letter is part of a wider campaign marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which falls on May 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vinay Narwal

Lieutenant Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy, 26, from Haryana, was among those killed in the attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Photo: X/@indiannavy

Navy officer on honeymoon, grandfather vacationing with grandkids among 26 killed in Kashmir attack

LIEUTENANT Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy had been married just six days earlier. He was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was shot in the head by a terrorist while eating bhelpuri with his wife.

Manjunatha, a tourist from Karnataka, was asked if he was Hindu or Muslim before being shot dead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

Saifullah Kasuri

Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

THE tourist town of Pahalgam in India's Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of the worst terror attacks in the region on Tuesday (22) since the abrogation of Article 370. A group of heavily armed terrorists opened fire on unsuspecting tourists at Baisaran meadow, killing 26 people and injuring many more.

The attack sent shockwaves across the country and drew condemnation from leaders both in India and abroad. Within hours, a group known as The Resistance Front (TRF), widely believed to be a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

The damage to plaques at Carpenders Park Cemetery has sparked outrage in the Muslim community

Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

Grant Williams

HERTFORDSHIRE Police have said they are “confident” the desecration of Muslim graves at a cemetery in north London “was a religiously motivated act”.

The leader of the council that owns the cemetery visited the site last week to speak to grieving families following the horrific incident.

Keep ReadingShow less