New guidelines for testing of COVID-19 patients released by Delhi government

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi government has issued a new set of guidelines for testing of Covid-19 patients. According to an order issued by the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) in Delhi on June 2, the revised strategy for Covid-19 testing is for symptomatic patients.

All symptomatic (ILI symptoms) individuals with history of international travel in the last 14 days; all symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases; all symptomatic healthcare workers or frontline workers involved in containment and mitigation of COVID 19; all patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) are to be tested, the order said.

Direct and high-risk contacts (diabetic, hypertension, cancer patients and senior citizens) of a confirmed case are to be tested once between day five and day 10 of coming into contact with a confirmed case, the order issued stated. Also, all symptomatic people within hotspots or containment zones; all hospitalised patients who develop ILI symptoms; all symptomatic among returnees and migrants within seven days of illness are to be tested, it said. All testing in these categories have been recommended to be done by real time RT-PCR tests only, the order said.