The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday said that contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients are not required to undertake a Covid-19 test unless they are identified as high-risk based on age or co-morbidities; or undertaking inter-state travel. It said testing can be undertaken either through RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, CRISPR, RT-LAMP, Rapid Molecular Testing Systems or through Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
It added that patients discharged after home isolation or patients being discharged from a Covid-19 facility need not be tested, the ICMR statement said. Moreover, asymptomatic individuals in community settings and also individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel are also not required to get tested for Covid-19.
However, those individuals with symptoms like cough, fever, sore throat or loss of taste or smell and other Covid signs need to be tested. It also added that individuals who are elderly above 60 years) or those with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic lung or kidney disease, etc also need to be tested.
For hospitals, the ICMR directed that no emergency procedure should be delayed for lack of a test and patients should also not be referred to other facilities for lack of a testing facility. “Asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical or non-surgical invasive procedures including pregnant women in or near labour who are hospitalized for delivery should not be tested unless warranted or symptoms develop,” the statement stated.
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.
The statement comes as the centre said that so far, five to 10 percent of the active Covid cases this time needed hospitalisation. However, the centre added that the situation is dynamic and might change rapidly and asked states to keep a watch on cases under home isolation and in hospitals.
All states and Union Territories are advised to keep a daily watch on the situation of the total number of active cases, cases under home isolation, the number of hospitalized cases, cases on oxygen beds, ICU beds and on ventilatory support, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to states and Union territories.
Meanwhile, India saw a single-day rise of 1,79,723 coronavirus infections taking the total tally to 3,57,07,727, including 4,033 cases of the Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far. The number of active cases has increased to 7,23,619, the highest in around 204 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,83,936 with 146 fatalities.
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