Covid in India: Only high-risk contacts of patients need to be tested, advises ICMR

Contacts of confirmed Covid cases do not need to get tested unless identified as high risk based on age or comorbidities, according to a new government advisory.

The ICMR Advisory on Purposive Testing Strategy for Covid-19 said individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel also do not need to get tested.

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).

A positive point-of-care test [home or self-test/RAT] and molecular test is to be considered confirmatory, without any repeat testing, the advisory said.

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Symptomatic individuals, testing negative on home/self-test or RAT should undertake RT-PCR test, it stated.

• India