Israeli coronavirus delegation to India to return in coming days

Delegation collected 20,000 samples from confirmed coronavirus patients within nine days

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
A monkey crosses the road near India's Presidential Palace during a 14-hour long curfew to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, New Delhi, India, March 22, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/ANUSHREE FADNAVIS)
A monkey crosses the road near India's Presidential Palace during a 14-hour long curfew to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, New Delhi, India, March 22, 2020
(photo credit: REUTERS/ANUSHREE FADNAVIS)
Less than two weeks after an Israeli delegation took off for India, it will return in the coming days after collecting thousands of samples from coronavirus patients.
“The joint delegation has completed its mission in India after meeting its ambitious goal of collecting over 20,000 samples from confirmed coronavirus patients within nine days,” the Defense Ministry said of the delegation from Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT).
The samples collected in India will be able to test and validate four Israeli diagnostic technologies, the ministry said.
The delegation included the Israeli military attache in India, Col. Asaf Maller, microbiologist and infectious diseases expert Prof. Nati Keller from the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and Itai Gordon, head of the Health Ministry’s Innovation Department, as well as engineers and technical experts from companies that have developed innovative technologies.
During their time in India, the delegation set up six drive-through sites in the city of Delhi to collect coronavirus samples and two laboratories to process the data using technology brought from Israel.
The government of India, meanwhile, assigned hundreds of local professionals to collect the samples (50-100 per site), from thousands of volunteers by sound, saliva, breath and a swab test.
The four technologies being tested identify changes in a patient’s voice or deterioration in the condition of the patient’s respiratory system; a breathalyzer test which would detect the virus using terahertz waves; testing a patient’s saliva with the help of isothermal chemicals; and another saliva test which would detect proteins of the virus.
The samples that were collected were inserted into the systems based on artificial intelligence, enabling the MAFAT personnel and representatives of Israeli industries to begin processing and analyzing the data.
Once the delegation lands in Israel, the procedure will continue.
“The goal is to bring to the world the technological capability to perform rapid corona tests within tens of seconds,” Maller said, adding that such technology will enable the opening of airports, office buildings, schools, train stations and more.
“We hope that in a few months we will be able to bring good news to the world,” Maller said.
Head of the delegation on behalf of the DDR&D, Lt.-Col. Yaniv Meirman, said that he was “optimistic and hopeful that we will put in place a system for the rapid diagnosis of the coronavirus.”
And while it’s still too early to say which technology is the best option, Meirman said that they should be operational within the coming months and “reduce the damage caused by the pandemic” by further opening the Israeli economy and skies.
Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday held a Zoom talk with the delegation.
"This journey is not over yet, we will sum it up when we have a solution, but it is a Zionist, technological, operational and security pride to be able to think and produce an impressive action. We need systems that enable life with a coronavirus routine and this solution can be an important medical intelligence tool," Gantz said in a statement.
Ashkenazi added that "the delegation is an exceptional example of cooperation that first and foremost contributes to the war against coronavirus. It is a success that crosses offices and continents. I thank the staff and [want to] mention that such activities have important political influence."


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