India, Israel to develop testing kits which will give COVID-19 results in 30 seconds

India and Israel have come together to develop rapid testing for the virus that could give results in under 30 seconds.

Making the announcement Embassy of Israel in India said today that in the coming weeks, the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Health will lead an unprecedented operation in the fight against the coronavirus, in cooperation with the Indian Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser.

A special planned flight from Tel Aviv to New Delhi will be carrying a high ranking member from Israel’s Ministry of Defense R&D team which has been working with India’s chief scientist K Vijay Raghavan and DRDO to develop rapid testing for the deadly coronavirus in less than 30 seconds. Raghavan is the government’s principal scientific adviser.

Ambassador Ron Malka said, “I am proud to lead this Israeli delegation to India. It is at times like this that our friendship is tested, and the State of Israel is happy to lend a helping hand to India in this complicated and difficult time. "I am confident that India and Israel can work together to find innovative and cheap solutions to help the world overcome this crisis.

Israel also acknowledged India’s help to combat the coronavirus when it gave special authorization to acquire medicine, masks and protective gear.

“In the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Israel, India gave Israel special authorization to acquire medicine, masks & protective gear. Now, Israel is proud to reciprocate this significant gesture & grant authorization for purchasing of respirators to its great friend in the east,” the embassy said in another tweet.

The Israeli delegation will be led by Ambassador Ron Malka, and the Defense Attaché in India, Col. Assaf Meller. On the medical front, the delegation will be led by Prof. Nati Keller, an infectious diseases specialist from Sheba Medical Center, and Itai Gordon, Head of the Innovation Department at the Ministry of Health, reported Arutz Sheva.

Apart from this, the delegation will also include engineers and other professionals from the Israeli companies which are developing various diagnostic technologies.

Israel’s Covid-19 tally stands at over 56,000 out of which more than 23,000 have recovered and 433 have died.

During a phone conversation in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu “agreed the post-Covid world would create further avenues for mutually beneficial partnerships in many areas”, according to a readout from the external affairs ministry.