Contacts of Covid patients don't need to get tested unless they are in 'at risk' category: ICMR

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday asked the contacts of Covid-19 positive patients not to test themselves unless they belong to the “at risk” category due to their age or comorbidities.

Others not requiring Covid-19 tests are (1) asymptomatic individuals in community settings (2) patients who stand discharged as per home isolation guidelines (3) patients being discharged from a Covid-19 facility as per the revised discharge policy and (4) individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel.

The new testing strategy is in sync with the Centre’s new home isolation policy, in which it has been suggested that a person is not required to undergo a Covid-19 test after a seven-day isolation period if he/she doesn’t have fever for the previous three days.

Read more: Covid test misinformation spikes along with spread of Omicron

The changes come at a time when the Omicron variant is sweeping across the country, triggering an unprecedented rise in fresh Covid cases.

In a community setting, Covid-19 tests are to be conducted for symptomatic individuals (cough, fever, sore throat, loss of taste and/or smell, breathlessness and/or other respiratory symptoms) and the at-risk contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, said the ICMR in its advisory.

Such contacts are the elderly population more than 60 years and individuals with co-morbidity such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic lung or kidney disease, malignancy, and obesity.

In addition, individuals undertaking international travel are required to be tested. Also international travelers arriving at Indian ports of entries are required to be tested.

In a hospital, Covid-19 tests are to be carried out as per the discretion of a doctor, but no emergency procedure should be delayed due to the lack of a Covid test, according to the revised guidelines.

Moreover, patients should not be referred to other facilities for lack of a testing facility and all arrangements should be made to collect and transfer samples to testing facilities, mapped to the health facility.

Asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical or non-surgical invasive procedures, including pregnant women in or near labour, who are hospitalised should not be tested unless warranted or symptoms develop.