In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the government on Saturday put curbs on export of diagnostic kits with immediate effect.

“The export of diagnostic kits (diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, preparation diagnostic or laboratory reagents)… is restricted with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

The move would help in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis as these kits are required for testing of patients.

This comes as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country near 3,000 with 2,650 active cases, 183 recovered patients and 68 fatalities.

The government is also trying to bolster the healthcare infrastructure to manage the coronavirus crisis and increase the number of protective equipment and essentials to facilitate the fight against Covid-19.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said that the national capital is facing a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“We have only 7000-8000 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits left in our stock which will last 2-3 days. We’ve demanded 50,000 PPE kits on an urgent basis,”

The national capital is now the third most affected in the country after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with 386 cases.

Delhi health minister said that of the total number of coronavirus patients in the national capital, over 250 people have links with the Markaz in Nizamuddin.   

City’s Lok Nayak Jay Prakash and GB Pant Hospital will be converted into dedicated Covid-19 management center from Monday.