New Delhi: Contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases do not need to get tested unless identified as ‘high-risk’ based on age or comorbidities. This is according to a new government advisory released Monday. The ICMR Advisory on Purposive Testing Strategy for Covid-19 also said individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travels do not need to get tested either.
The ICMR said testing can be undertaken either through RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, CRISPR, RT-LAMP, Rapid Molecular Testing Systems or through Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
A positive point-of-care test (home or self-test/RAT) and molecular test is to be considered confirmatory without any repeat testing, the advisory said. Symptomatic individuals, testing negative on home/self-test or RAT should undertake RT-PCR test, it stated.
Also read: Immunity post Covid infection persists for about 9 months: ICMR
“People who need not be tested: Contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 unless identified as high risk based on age or comorbidities and individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel,” said the advisory.
It further said that asymptomatic individuals in community setting, people who stand discharged as per home isolation norms and patients ‘being discharged’ from a Covid-19 facility as per revised discharge policy also need not be tested.
Listing the category of people who could be tested, the advisory said in community settings, symptomatic individuals, at-risk contacts (elderly over 60 years of age and individuals with co-morbidity) of laboratory confirmed cases may be tested for Covid-19.
Also, individuals undertaking international travel (as per country-specific requirements and international travellers arriving at Indian airports/seaports/ports of entries as per laid down guidelines) may be tested.
The ICMR’s advisory is generic in nature and may be modified as per discretion of the state health authorities for specific public health and epidemiological reasons, the advisory said.
