ICMR releases revised strategy for Covid-19 testing in India

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday released revised strategy for Covid-19 testing.

In the revised ICMR guidelines:

All symptomatic individuals with history of international travel in the last 14 days to be tested.

It also says that all symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, healthcare workers at the front-line of battle against Covid-19 and patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection or SARI to be tested.

Asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of the people who have been tested positive with the virus must be tested between day 5 and day 10 of coming into contact.

All symptomatic ILI within hotspots/containment zones and hospitalised patients who develop ILI symptoms and symptomatic among returnees and migrants within 7 days of illness must be tested.

No emergency procedure (including deliveries) should be delayed for lack of test.

Also, All the above testing is recommended by the real-time RT-PCR test only.