Daily News Capsule

The Indian medical council of research brings a new set of guidelines for the RT-PCR testing amid covid-19 surge and an uncontrollable rise in every day’s cases. As per ICMR’s new guidelines of covid-19 testing, healthy individuals now don’t need an RT-PCR report to travel across the country.

“The need of RT-PCR test [for] healthy individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel may be completely removed,” said ICMR in the advisory. All asymptomatic domestic travelers must follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviors, it added.

RT-PCR tests are more accurate than the rapid antigen test. And till now, individuals traveling across the country needed a negative report of RT-PCR to cross the borders. ICMR advised ignoring the RT-PCR test report if the person is in quarantine for 10 days and did not report fever for the past 3 days. “RT PCR test must not be repeated in any individual who has tested positive once either by RAT or RT PCR,” it also said.

Also read: World hand hygiene day 2021

ICMR’s new guidelines have come after the hospitals were overwhelmed with the covid-19 patients and have plunged the healthcare system to collapse. In the present condition, there is a tremendous shortage of oxygen cylinders, beds, and ventilators. People have to wait for 7 days if they are trying to do their covid test at home.

ICMR also came forward with loading off the laboratory’s burden by reducing the excessive RT-PCR tests. While ICMR is relying on more accurate rapid antigen tests, if it results in being inaccurate like the previous generation of RAT’s, it will automatically lower the positive covid-19 cases and create more risk of spreading the disease by the misdiagnosed individuals.

About 350,000 new cases were reported on Wednesday, May 5, and have crossed the 20 million cases since the pandemic started with a mortality rate of 3,780.