Government’s new guidelines on corona testing. The country’s coronavirus-testing rules have been revised by the central government to relieve pressure on diagnostic labs in the wake of a surge in COVID cases. It stated that “healthy” interstate travellers and Covid patients who were released from hospitals after recovery should not be tested. Because of the rapidly growing caseloads, the country’s over 2,500 labs, according to the centre, are working under extreme stress.
In a circular to states, the centre stated, “The need for RT-PCR testing in healthy individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel may be completely eliminated to reduce the load on laboratories.” “At the time of hospital discharge, individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 do not need to be tested,” it added.
People who have tested positive once, either through rapid tests or the gold standard RT-PCR, are not to be tested again, according to the centre. People with Covid symptoms should avoid non-essential travel to reduce their risk of infection, according to the government. All asymptomatic individuals who must travel for work or school must behave in a Covid-appropriate manner.
For more than a week, India has been reporting over 3 lakh daily coronavirus cases. On Tuesday, the country’s Covid numbers for a single day were 3.35 lakh cases and 3,449 deaths in a 24-hour period. Medical oxygen, life-saving drugs, and hospital beds are all in short supply in several of the worst-affected states.
The world has been shocked by horrific stories of people dying outside of hospitals due to a lack of medical care and oxygen support. Many countries have rushed medical supplies into India to help with the surge’s control.
In the meantime, many Covid-affected states have reported that RT-PCR test results are being delayed by several days. People are increasingly opting for expensive CT scans that can detect signs of infection in the lungs.
Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, issued a statement on Monday warning against the “misuse” of CT scans. Early diagnosis and treatment, according to experts, are critical for patients’ chances of recovery.
