COVID-19 RT-PCR: One test, many guidelines
ET Bureau|
Tweaked from time to time, the guidelines formulated initially by Indian Council of Medical Research allowed testing symptomatic individuals who had travel history to affected nations and healthcare workers who had been in contact with confirmed cases.
As India initiated its lockdown from March 25 and later when migrants started arriving in their native states and air and rail routes were opened, the guidelines were expanded to allow testing of asymptomatic individuals who had been in contact with confirmed Covid patients. Even now, different states have different guidelines to ensure their caseload does not increase and put a burden on their healthcare system. ET takes a look at guidelines of states:
Agencies
CHALLENGE: Three days, Delhi’s testing numbers dipped. The guideline change coincided with notices being served to 7 private laboratories for not following the rulebook.
Agencies
CHALLENGE: The biggest challenge in expanding testing, however, has been the state government’s reluctance to allow private laboratories. The state has not allowed ICMR approved private labs to begin testing. The state is also planning to challenge a high court order which allowed private labs to test.
ANI
CHALLENGE: Home collection for Covid tests has stopped in Mumbai after the municipal corporation suspected private laboratories of testing asymptomatic patients also. This rule, however, means that any suspected patient has to visit a hospital or a laboratory and add to the risk.
PTI
CHALLENGE: Hospitals in Gujarat are getting full as people are getting admitted to get a confirmatory test. At the same time, it is a Catch-22 situation. As per health ministry guidelines, you cannot be admitted in the hospital unless you have severe symptoms. Doctors are now fearing that with the waiting list increasing for hospital beds, the more serious patients might be deprived of critical healthcare.
AP
CHALLENGE: The state still has one of the lowest tests per million.
