The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kit developed by Pune-based MyLabs Discovery Solutions for home testing of Kovid-19.
The ICMR stated that the RAT kit can be used at home and is only suitable for immediate contact with symptomatic individuals and laboratory-confirmed positive cases. Medical research bodies have also advised against the indiscriminate use of tests.
In a statement, ICMR advised kit users to download a mobile app, which is available for both Android and iOS operating systems, and use the same device where the app is able to take a picture of the stripe in the kit after the testing process Is installed. is completed.
It said that the app’s data would be captured centrally in a secure server connected to ICMR’s Covid-19 test portal, adding that patient privacy would remain intact.
The ICMR stated that all individuals who test positive can be considered true positives and do not need to be tested again.
Negative testers should have their tests done using the RT-PCR method. In addition, they can be immediately treated as “suspected Covid-19 cases” and have been advised to follow the home-isolation protocol while awaiting RT-PCR results.