All section Close
Image Credit: Pixabay (Representative Image)
ICMR Approves Home-Based COVID Testing Kit: All You Need To Know
Writer: Madhusree Goswami
A mountain girl trying to make it big in the city. She loves to travel and explore and hence keen on doing on-ground stories. Giving the crux of the matter through her editing skills is her way to pay back the journalism its due credit.
Delhi, 20 May 2021 7:28 AM GMT | Updated 20 May 2021 7:30 AM GMT
Editor : Palak Agrawal |
Palak a journalism graduate believes in simplifying the complicated and writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. She calls herself a " hodophile" or in layman words- a person who loves to travel.
Creatives : Madhusree Goswami
A mountain girl trying to make it big in the city. She loves to travel and explore and hence keen on doing on-ground stories. Giving the crux of the matter through her editing skills is her way to pay back the journalism its due credit.
The self-testing kit is prized at ₹ 250. The Indian Council of Medical Research has, however, advised against indiscriminate testing and said that it should be used only on symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of lab-confirmed positive cases.
India on Wednesday, May 19, approved the first home-based testing kit for COVID-19 which can furnish the results within 15 minutes.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) gave its approval to Coviself, a rapid antigen test kit manufactured by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions, reported Scroll. The medical research body has, however, advised against indiscriminate testing.
Who Can Use It?
Using the kit is advised only by symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory-confirmed positive cases.
Reports have stated that the kit would enhance the overall testing capacity and would prove beneficial to people in rural areas as such regions are devoid of robust healthcare infrastructure. Additionally, it would prevent symptomatic people from venturing out for testing thereby lowering the risk of transmission.
How To Use It
The kit will come with a user manual. The council too has provided video links for the benefit of users. Users will have to download the Mylab app from Google Play Store and Apple Store on their phones and fill in their credentials. The test will have to be conducted as per the procedure described in the user manual.
After taking the test, users will have to capture a picture of the test strip. They have to use the same mobile phone that was used for downloading the app and user registration.
The council said that the data from the phone will be centrally captured in a secure server that is connected with the ICMR COVID-19 testing portal, where all data will be eventually stored.
One has to wait for 15 minutes for the results to appear on the application. Any result appearing after 20 minutes is considered to be invalid.
What Happens After The Result?
All those who test positive do not require any additional testing as this self-test will be the final verdict. The ones testing negative may opt for RT-PCR testing and may be considered as suspected COVID cases.
What Is The Cost Of The Kit?
The kit will cost ₹ 250, according to Hindustan Times.
Making testing widely available and accessible and reduce the burden on laboratories. Till May 19, India tested 32,23,56,187 samples for COVID.
Also Read: 'Lockdown Should Be Extended To Six-Eight Weeks': ICMR Chief
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
