The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday released an advisory for COVID-19 home testing using Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT). According to the medical body, home testing by RAT should be conducted only in symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory confirmed positive cases. The ICMR has approved CoviSelf (PathoCatch) COVID-19 OTC Antigen LF device for use at home. It is developed by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions Ltd.
ICMR ADVISORY
- Home testing by RAT is advised only in symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory confirmed positive cases.
- Indiscriminate testing is not advised.
- Home testing should be conducted as per the procedure described by the manufacturer in the user manual.
- 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.
- All users are advised to click a picture of the test strip after completing the test procedure with the same mobile phone which has been used for downloading the mobile app and user registration.
- Data in the app of your mobile phone will be centrally captured in a secure server which is connected with the ICMR COVID-19 testing portal, where all data will be eventually stored.
- Patient confidentiality will be fully maintained.
- All individuals who test postive may be considered as true positives and no repeat testing is required.
- All test positive individuals are advised to follow home isolation and care as per the ICMR and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare protocol.
- All symptomatic individuals who test negative by RAT should get themselves immediately tested by RTPCR. This is especially important as the RATs are likely to miss few positive cases presenting a low viral load.
- All RAT negative symptomatic individuals may be treated as suspect COVID-19 cases and are advised to follow ICMR/MOHFW home isolation protocol while awaiting the RTPCR test result.
- All results may be interpreted as per the protocol laid down by the manufacturer in the usermanual.
- Manufacturer's instructions must be strictly followed for disposal of the test kit, swab and other materials.
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