ICMR advises against indiscriminate COVID-19 home testing using RAT kit

All individuals who test positive through the RAT kit may be considered as true positives and no repeat testing is required, the ICMR said in an advisory.

PTI

May 19, 2021 / 23:09 IST

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The ICMR Wednesday advised against indiscriminate COVID-19 home testing using Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs), saying it should be used only on symptomatic individuals and on the immediate contacts of laboratory confirmed positive cases. All individuals who test positive through the RAT kit may be considered as true positives and no repeat testing is required, the Indian Council of Medical Research said in an advisory.

"Home testing by RAT is advised only in symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory confirmed positive cases. Indiscriminate testing is not advised," the county's apex health research body said. "All symptomatic individuals who test negative by RAT should get themselves immediately tested by RT-PCR. This is especially important as the RATs are likely to miss few positive cases presenting with a low viral load.

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"All RAT negative symptomatic individuals may be treated as suspect COVID-19 cases and are advised to follow the ICMR/Ministry of Health home isolation protocol while awaiting the RT-PCR test result," the advisory stated. Home testing should be conducted as per the procedure described by the manufacturer in the user manual.

The ICMR said the home testing mobile app is available in Google play store and Apple store and must be downloaded by all users. The mobile app is a comprehensive guide of the testing procedure and will provide a positive or negative test result to the patient.

COVID-19 Vaccine

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