Chandigarh, June 29: The Haryana government on Monday decided to start convalescent plasma therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The plasma therapy will be given to coronavirus patients only after approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Haryana cabinet minister Anil Vij took to Twitter to give the information regarding the government’s decision. Delhi Government to Start Plasma Bank for Treatment of COVID-19 Patients, Says CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Vij in a tweet said, “Haryana to start plasma therapy for treatment of #COVID19 patients in all its medical colleges after approval from ICMR.” The decision of conducting plasma therapy on coronavirus patients was taken after the number of COVID-19 cases in the state almost touched 14,000-mark.

Tweet by Anil Vij:

Till now, 13,829 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus so far. The COVID-19 death toll in the state also jumped to 223. Currently, there are 4,689 active COVID-19 cases in the state, while 8,917 patients have recovered from the virus.

Convalescent plasma therapy involves a treatment procedure that includes the use of antibodies from the blood of humans who have recovered from COVID-19. This is being aimed at critically infected coronavirus patients. The therapy involves using the blood of people completely recovered from COVID-19 that contains antibodies having the ability to fight coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 tally in India continued the upward trend with 19,459 new coronavirus cases and 380 deaths reported on Monday morning in the 24-hour time period. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India rose to 5,48,318 on June 29. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, out of the total cases in the country, 2,10,120 are active cases while 3,21,723 individuals have been cured and discharged from the hospitals. The death toll has mounted to 16,475.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2020 05:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).