Asymptomatic persons and contacts of confirmed cases don’t require testing, says ICMR in its new guidelines

• ICMR rolled out a new set of guidelines on COVID-19 testing amid the Omicron scare in the country.
• The guidelines included who should be tested and who should not be tested with a motive to detect early symptomatic cases.
• Asymptomatic cases and contacts of confirmed cases of COVID-19, unless identified as high risk, are not required to be tested.

As India is witnessing a steep rise in daily COVID-19 cases, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday late evening, rolled out a new set of guidelines on COVID-19 testing.

The guidelines included who should be tested and who should not be tested with a motive to detect early symptomatic cases for quick isolation and care.

According to the ICMR, asymptomatic cases and contacts of confirmed cases of COVID-19 unless identified as high risk based on age or morbidities (diabetes, hypertension etc.) are not required to be tested.

Further the guidelines said that the patients who stand discharged as per home isolation guidelines or patients being discharged from a COVID-19 facility as per revised discharge policy and individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel also don't need to be tested.

But people who have almost all the symptoms (cough, fever, sore throat, loss of taste/smell, breathlessness or respiratory symptoms), individuals at risk of laboratory confirmed cases, international travellers or international travellers arriving in India shall be tested.

In the hospital setting, the ICMR clearly said that patients who have to go under emergency surgeries and deliveries shall not be delayed due to lack of COVID-19 test. Also, 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”, said ICMR.

It further stated that the admitted patients may not be tested more than once a week and asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical/non-surgical invasive procedures including pregnant women in/near labour who are hospitalised for delivery should not be tested unless symptoms are seen.

Further talking about the mode of testing, ICMR said, “Testing can be undertaken either through RT-PCR, TrueNat, CBNAAT, CRISPR, RT-LAMP, Rapid Molecular Testing Systems or through rapid antigen test (RAT).”

Home or self test or molecular testing should be considered confirmatory and doesn’t need to go for repeat testing.

Keeping in mind the rising Omicron cases, ICMR said, “Genome sequencing is to be performed only in a subset of positive samples as per recommendations of INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Surveillance Consortium).”

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