Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR, has devised a new strategy for Covid-19 testing in India and in hotspots or cluster and in large migration gatherings or evacuees centres.

The new strategy for Covid-19 testing in India includes all symptomatic individuals who have undertaken international travel in the last 14 days and all symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases.

It also includes all symptomatic healthcare workers and all patients with severe acute respiratory illness like fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between day five and day 14 of coming in his or her contact.

In hotspots or clusters defined by Health and Family Welfare Ministry and in large migration gatherings or evacuees centres, all symptomatic having fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose will be tested real-time polymerase chain reaction, Real-Time Reverse -Polymerase Chain Reaction or rRT-PCR within seven days of illness.

After seven days of illness, antibody test will be done if RTR-PCR confirmed it negative.