All you need to know about home testing COVID-19 kits
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In view of the second wave of COVID-19 that has put extreme pressure on diagnostic path labs, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently approved COVID-19 home testing using Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs).
New Delhi: In view of the second wave of COVID-19 that has put extreme pressure on diagnostic path labs, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently approved COVID-19 home testing using Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). The self-use test can be used by symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed cases as per the ICMR guidelines. Users of this test will not need sample collection by a healthcare professional. This will ease pressure on overburdened labs and reduce delays in testing. However, these tests should be done wisely and in lieu of the said COVID-19 norms. According to the ICMR, individuals who test positive using the home testing kit may be considered as true positives, and no-repeat testing is required. All symptomatic individuals who test negative must get tested by RT-PCR, as RATs are likely to miss few positive cases. Md Shakeel Ahmed, Head-Emergency Medicine, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi, answers to IANSlife the commonly asked questions about home testing kits:More Related News