ICMR issues new testing guidelines for Covid-19

As the new mutant of coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research issued revised testing guidelines for Covid-19. In order to take the load off the existing laboratories, the ICMR recommended reduced number of RT-PCR tests in the new guidelines.

ICMR has recommended no RT-PCR tests if

• An individual has tested positive by rapid antigen test.
• An individual has tested positive once by RT-PCR test.
• One has completed 10 days home isolation period with no fever for the last three days.
• At the time of hospital discharge.

A healthy individual is undertaking interstate domestic travel. While this is a requirement imposed by states, ICMR said this can completely be removed to reduce the load on laboratories.

Given the fact that the laboratories are overburdened due to the increased number of RT-PCR tests, the ICMR recommended Rapid Antigen Testing for mass detection instead of RT-PCR tests.

RAT may be allowed at all available government and private healthcare facilities, in cities, towns, villages, at offices, schools, colleges, community centres and other vacant spaces. Drive through RAT facilities may also be created, the ICMR said.

According to ICMR, individuals with symptoms identified negative by rapid antigen testing should be linked with RT-PCR test facility.

The ICMR has made it mandatory to enter the information of vaccination status in the testing form for RAT or RT-PCR. This information is of critical importance, the ICMR said. This comes in the wake of people testing positive after one or both doses of the vaccines.

While getting tested first was recommended before, in the current upsurge of Covid-19 cases, the ICMR says, any individual presenting with fever (with or without cough), headache, sore throat, breathlessness, body ache, the recent loss of taste or smell, fatigue and diarrhea should be considered as a suspect case of Covid-19 unless proven otherwise by confirmation of another etiology, a Hindustan Times report said.