As Home Covid-19 Testing Kit Gets Approval, Here's All You Need to Know About the Process & Precautions

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday said home usage of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) is advisable only on symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of coronavirus-positive patients confirmed by laboratories.

Here is lowdown on how to use the kit and what steps to follow:

Q.Who should use the test?

Home testing by RAT is advised only in symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory-confirmed positive cases. Indiscriminate testing is not advised.

Q.How to use the kit?

With the kit, a manual will come describing the entire process. The ICMR too gave the video links for the convenience of users from where one can see the steps to be followed.

The kit comes in a pouch containing a nasal swab and a pre-filled extraction tube and one test card.

Q.Is there an app to be downloaded?

For the test, the users will have to download the mylab app on their mobile phones, where the credentials have to be filled.

Q.What are the precautions to be taken while testing?

Without touching the swab head, insert the swab inside both the nostrils up to 2 to 3 centimetres. Roll the swab five times inside each nostril.

Dip the swab in the tube, pinch the tube at the bottom and swirl the nasal swab 10 times to ensure that the swab is immersed well in the tube.

The swab has to be broken from the breakpoint. Covering the tube, two drops have to be added to the test kit by pressing. One has to wait for 15 minutes for the results to appear. Any result appearing after 20 minutes is considered invalid.

At 15 minute, the app will ring and the result will be available on the app.

Q.Will my identity be revealed?

The ICMR in its guideline said that the data on the mobile app will be centrally connected to a secure server that is connected with the ICMR Covid-19 testing portal. There is no threat to patient confidentiality, the ICMR said.

Q.What happens after the results?

All those who test positive do not require additional testing as this self-testing will be considered as true positives. Those who test negative may opt for RT-PCR testing. Such negative but symptomatic individuals may be treated as suspect Covid-19 cases.

Q.What do I need to do once my reports are confirmed?

All users are advised to click a picture of the test strip after completing the test procedure with the same mobile phone which has been used for downloading the mobile app and user registration.

All positive individuals are advised to follow home isolation and care as per the ICMR & Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) protocol.

Manufacturer’s instructions must be strictly followed for disposal of the test kit, swab and other materials.

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