Israeli delegation to India
Israeli delegation to IndiaIsrael Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office

The Israeli delegation, led by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), in the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have completed their mission in India, collecting sufficient samples to test and validate four Israeli diagnostic technologies.
The team will be returning to Israel in the upcoming days, with more than 20,000 samples collected from COVID-19 patients.

The joint team included representatives of the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Health, and is returning to Israel upon meeting its ambitious goal of collecting more than 20,000 samples from verified coronavirus patients within nine days. The team set up six drive-through sites in the city of Delhi for sampling purposes, and two labs for data processing, using technology brought from Israel.

The government of India assigned hundreds of local professionals to collect the samples (50-100 per site) from thousands of volunteers via non-invasive means. Four types of samples were collected from each patient: sound, saliva, breath and a swab test.

The activity was supervised by joint Israeli-Indian teams at all sites, ensuring that everyone complied with predetermined guidelines and regulations.

The samples that were collected were inserted to systems based on artificial intelligence, enabling the DDR&D personnel and representatives of Israeli industries to begin processing and analyzing the data. This procedure will continue upon the delegation's return to Israel.

Israel's Defense Attache to India, Col. Asaf Maller, said: "The goal is to bring to the world the technological capability to perform rapid coronavirus tests within tens of seconds, which will enable the opening of airports, office buildings, schools, train stations and more. The Indian support for the project is amazing. All research and development bodies, including the Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister Modi, have joined the operation in full force. We hope that in a few months we will be able to bring good news to the world."

Head of the delegation on behalf of the DDR&D, Lt.Col. Yaniv Meirman added: "We came to India to enrich Israeli diagnostic technologies and while there, we found real partners - partners who were fully committed to the success of the mission. We are in the midst of processing and analyzing the data that we have collected, and will continue this process upon our arrival in Israel. We are optimistic and hopeful that in the near future we will put in place a system for the rapid diagnosis of coronavirus, which will make it possible to further open the Israeli economy, 'open' the skies and reduce the damage caused by the pandemic."

The activity in India was conducted under strict guidelines and regulation to ensure the safety and health of all those involved. During their stay in India, members of the delegation underwent three coronavirus tests and were found to be negative for the virus.