As Covid-19 cases surge during the second wave of the pandemic, so has the load on laboratories in charge of processing the swabs taken for a Covid-19 test. To reduce the load on these labs, the Centre has announced new guidelines for Covid-19 testing, one of which says that Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals need not be tested.
India currently has a total of 2,506 molecular testing laboratories, including RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, and other platforms. The total daily national testing capacity is close to 15 lakh tests considering a three-shift operationalization of the existing laboratory network.
"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.
The new guidelines state that an RT-PCR test is not necessary in these instances:
1. Individuals whose Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) has returned a positive result
2. Individuals who have returned a positive result for an RT-PCR test once
3. Healthy individuals undertaking interstate travel
4. Covid-19 recovered patients while being discharged from hospitals
5. Individuals who have completed 10 days of home isolation and shown no symptoms
Published 05 May 2021, 05:41 IST