New Delhi The Centre on Wednesday said side inflow tests, which includes rapid-fire-antigen and home-antigen tests, can descry Covid from the third day after exposure to the contagion to day eight while the RT-PCR test can diagnose the infection for over to 20 days At a press conference, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said on the first day one will test negative whatever tests they shoulder.
“It takes time for the contagion to grow in your system and that’s known as the idle period. From day three it’ll be sensible in the Side Flow Tests and up to day eight which is the contagious period That’s why, the discharge policy and home insulation policy are fastening on the seven- day period,”Mr Bhargava explained.
He said that RT-PCR test results will continue to be positive indeed after day eight because certain RNA patches which arenon-infective will continue to be exfoliate and will continue to beget test results to be positive.”The ICMR director-general said that for Omicron, side inflow tests have come the backbone Mr Bhargava said that according to government advisory, high- threat connections of verified Covid cases, linked grounded on age or comorbidities, those bearinginter-state trip don’t need to get tested Also, asymptomatic individualities in community settings, cases who stand discharged according to home- insulation guidelines and those being discharged from a COVID-19 installation under the revised discharge policy don’t need to get tested, he said.
Still, Mr Bhargava stressed on seven- day home counterblockade for all connections of any positive case according to the guidelines and added that they should continue to wear a mask Pertaining to the Advisory on Purposive Testing Strategy for COVID-19 in India issued by ICMR lately, he said characteristic individualities, indeed if they test negative on a home test or rapid-fire-antigen test should go for RT-PCR test.
According to the advisory, testing can be accepted either through RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, CRISPR, RT- Beacon, Rapid Molecular Testing Systems or through the rapid-fire-antigen test A positive point-of- care test and molecular test is to be considered confirmational, without any reprise testing. Characteristic individualities, testing negative on home/ tone- test or rapid-fire-antigen test should shoulder RT-PCR test, the premonitory stated.
In community settings, characteristic individualities, at- threat connections ( senior and individualities with comorbidity) of laboratory- verified cases may be tested Also, individualities bearing transnational trip may be tested.
In sanitarium settings, testing may be accepted as per the discretion of the croaker with considerations similar as no exigency procedure should be delayed for lack of a test and cases shouldn’t be appertained to other installations for lack of a testing installation, the premonitory stated All arrangements should be made to collect and transfer samples to testing installations, counterplotted to the health installation There are testing laboratories and India’s diurnal RT-PCR testing capacity is over 20 lakh, Mr Bhargava said.
