Who Should Not Get A RT-PCR Test? Check ICMR's New COVID-19 Testing Guidelines

At a time when the country is fighting its biggest battle against the novel coronavirus attack, the ICMR has listed out some exceptions to getting the RT-PCR test done. Read on to find out.

As India continues to witness an exponential surge in daily COVID-19 cases, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released a new set of testing guidelines for novel coronavirus. According to the ICMR, not everyone is required to get the RT-PCR test done, there are some cases where individuals can skip the testing. The officials of the ICMR also stated that implementation of the new COVID testing rules will help reduce down the load from the laboratories.

"At present, the laboratories are facing challenges to meet the expected testing target due to extraordinary caseload and staff getting infected with COVID-19. In view of this situation, it is imperative to optimize the RT-PCR testing and simultaneously increase the access and availability of testing to all citizens of the country," the apex health research body said.

ICMR Has Recommended No RT-PCR Tests If:

1. A healthy person who is traveling inter-state (domestic travel) will not have to take the RT-PCR test.
2. Any individual who has completed 10 days in home isolation period with no fever for the last three days.
3. Anyone who has tested positive by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
4. Any individual who has tested COVID-19 positive once by RT-PCR test.
5. Anyone who is getting discharged from the hospital will not have to take the RT-PCR test at the time of leaving the hospital.

According to the sources, In India, at present testing is being conducted in around 2,506 labs across the country and the decision is aimed at preventing them from being burdened as cases increase.

When To Take The RT-PCR Test Done?

Now, that you know who all can avoid getting the RT-PCR test done, the second question is when should one get the RT PCR test done? Let's understand that.

According to the ICMR, any individual who has tested negative for COVID-19 in the Rapid Antigen Test (RAP) but is still experiencing some of the symptoms of the virus infection, should get the RT-PCR test done.

How To Stop The Spread of The Virus

Answering the question on how to pause the virus transmission, the ICMR said that all the non-essential travel and interstate travel of symptomatic individuals (COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms) should be essentially avoided to reduce the risk of infection and that all asymptomatic individuals undertaking essential travel must follow COVID appropriate behaviour.

India Adds Record 4.12L Fresh COVID-19 Cases, 3,980 Fatalities

India is currently experiencing a second wave of coronavirus. The country hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities on Thursday, , taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168.

Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 35,66,398 comprising 16.92 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.99 per cent.

The 3,980 new fatalities include 920 from Maharashtra, 353 from Uttar Pradesh, 346 from Karnataka, 311 from Delhi, 253 from Chhattisgarh, 181 from Haryana, 180 from Punjab, 167 from Tamil Nadu, 155 from Rajasthan, 141 from Jharkhand, 133 from Gujarat, 127 from Uttarakhand and 103 from West Bengal.

A total of 2,30,168 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 72,662 from Maharashtra, 18,063 from Delhi, 16,884 from Karnataka, 14,779 from Tamil Nadu, 14,151 from Uttar Pradesh, 11,847 from West Bengal, 9,825 from Punjab and 9,738 from Chhattisgarh.