Should you get tested on contact with Covid patient? Check ICMR fresh guidelines
Premium- ICMR has also issued detailed guidelines on Covid testing in view of the rising coronavirus cases
Amid rapid surge in coronavirus cases, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has come up with a revised and fresh advisory on testing for Covid. The apex health body said contacts of coronavirus patients do not need testing unless identified as high risk based on age or comorbidities.
India logged 1,79,723 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, the most since late May, while the active cases increased to 7,23,619. With this, India's Covid-19 caseload has surged to 35.71 million.
Of the 1.79 lakh new Covid cases, India reported 410 new cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the total tally of such infections to 4,033 across 27 states and UTs so far.
Sikkim is the only Indian state that has not reported any case of the Omicron variant to date. As many as 146 people died due to the coronavirus infection in the past one day, taking the cumulative death toll to 4,83,936.
The advisory noted that Covid testing is needed for early detection of symptomatic cases for quick isolation and care and of infections in elderly (above 60 years) and individuals with co-morbidities for quick care.
ICMR has also issued detailed guidelines on who should get tested and when is it actually required and who may not need to give samples for Covid testing.
Testing in community settings:
- Symptomatic (cough, fever, sore throat, loss of taste and/or smell, breathlessness and/or other respiratory symptoms) individuals.
- At-risk contacts of laboratory confirmed cases. [At-risk contacts are elderly (above 60 yearrs) and individuals with co-morbidity such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic lung or kidney disease, malignancy, obesity etc].
- Individuals undertaking international travel (as per country-specific requirements).
- International travelers arriving at Indian airports/seaports/ports of entries as per laid down guidelines.
Testing in hospital settings:
- Testing may be undertaken as per discretion of the treating doctor with the following considerations:
- No emergency procedure (including surgeries and deliveries) should be delayed for lack of a test.
- Patients should not be referred to other facilities for lack of a testing facility. All arrangements should be made to collect and transfer samples to testing facilities, mapped to the health facility.
- Asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical / non-surgical invasive procedures including pregnant women in/near labour who are hospitalized for delivery should not be tested unless warranted or symptoms develop.
People who need not be tested:
- Asymptomatic individuals in community settings
- Contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 unless identified as high risk based on age or comorbidities
- Patients who stand discharged as per home isolation guidelines
- Patients being discharged from a Covid-19 facility as per revised discharge policy
- Individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!