Coronavirus: Govt Likely To Revisit Strategy, May Allow 'On-Demand Testing' As Capacity Spikes

Coronavirus In India: As per present testing guidelines, an individual seeking a covid-19 test needs to have a test prescribed by a qualified practitioner

(Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP)

Coronavirus In India: The government may review the guidelines for testing strategy of Covid-19 to make it available to people on demand, as the testing facilities have been ramped up in India and the number of tests have shot up significantly in the last few weeks. Testing on an  on-demand basis in India seems possible as in addition to beefed up testing capacities, India  is also locally manufacturing testing kits and reagents. NITI Aayog member VK Paul was quoted by agencies as saying that the government would review the guidelines for testing, on being asked why on-demand testing is not being implemented for those willing to pay for it. He said: “We will review the strategy looking at the capacity we currently have and access to people. Practically, it is on demand anyway. We are almost there, we have to ensure that resources are used judiciously and avoid frivolous testing.” India’s single day Covid-19 testing has shot up to 9 lakh, making situation favourable for on-demand testing without a prescription. As per present testing guidelines, an individual seeking a covid-19 test needs to have a test prescribed by a qualified practitioner. India at present has 1476 labs across the country, including 971 government labs and 505 private labs. As per ICMR, India  has so far conducted over 3 crore tests. The daily new cases of COVID-19 and  the fatalties have shown a declining trend since August 13, the Health Ministry said Tuesday, but warned against any laxity, underlining that a five-day span was very short in the context of a pandemic. Addressing a press briefing, Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Rajesh Bhushan said in spite of a sustained level of 7-8 lakh coronavirus tests a day, the positivity rate has come down from 10.03 per cent in the first week of July to 7.72 per cent over the last seven days.