The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has designed a diagnostic kit for uncovering of Omicron variant of the coronavirus and has invited Expression of Interest from in vitro diagnostics (IVD) kit manufacturers for undertaking transfer of technology for its development and commercialisation.
Omicron
India’s Omicron case count is now at least 167. According to central and state officials, Omicron cases have been detected in: Maharashtra (54), Delhi (24), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (19), Telangana (20), Gujarat (11), Kerala (15), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (4). Meanwhile, India on Monday recorded 6,563 new Covid-19 cases and 132 deaths in the last 24 hours. With 8,077 recoveries, the active cases in the country stood at 82,267, according to the Health Ministry’s bulletin.
The ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dibrugarh, one of the institutes of the ICMR, New Delhi, has developed a novel technology — real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV2 and a kit for the same.
“ICMR is the owner of the said technology, including any underlying intellectual property(ies) and commercialisation rights. ICMR is lawfully entitled to enter into any form of non-exclusive license agreements with selected manufacturer/manufacturers, including transfer of technology through suitable agreement to any other interested manufacturers,” the invitation of Expression of Interest document said.
Meanwhile, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Sunday that in view of rising Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom, India should prepare itself for any eventuality. "We should prepare and hope that things are not as bad as in the United Kingdom. We need more data on Omicron. Whenever there is a surge in cases in other parts of the world, we need to monitor it closely and be prepared for any eventuality. It is better to stay prepared than to get caught off-guard," said Guleria told media.
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Amid the fear of Micron spread, many state governments are considering imposing restrictions from mid-week. In fact, lot of the states have already started requesting people to have low-key Christmas and New Year celebrations. Night curfews and stringent rules are likely to be imposed on all the main cities across the country!
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