New Delhi: In a much significant achievement, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday approved a home-based testing kit to detect Coronavirus infection.
As per reports, ICMR has issued an advisory for home testing of Coronavirus where a person will now be able to test himself or herself without requiring any medical professional.
Making the announcement, the council said that it has approved a home-testing kit called CoviSelf for suspects to check if they have Coronavirus infection while being at home.
The self-testing process will require only nasal swab and will be same like a rapid antigen testing.
"CoviSelf test is authorised for non-prescription home use with self-collected nasal swab specimens from individuals aged 18 years and older or with adult-collected samples from individuals aged 2 years or older," ICMR said in its advisory.
However, ICMR also pointed out that the home-testing kit should not be used indiscriminately. Only those who have symptoms of Coronavirus and those who came in immediate contacts of laboratory-confirmed positive patient should opt for this home-based testing.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI has also approved the market availability of the home-based test kit. But reports suggest that the kit will not be immediately available in the market.
CoviSelf Home-Testing Kit Details:
Along with the CoviSelf kit, there comes a manual describing the entire process. Even ICMR has shared several video links for users to understand the process of testing and to see the steps to be followed.
The kit comes in a pouch that includes a nasal swab stick, a pre-filled extraction tube, and one test card.
How To Use The Kit
Users will have to download the Mylab app on their mobile phones and fill in their login credentials.
Insert the swab stick inside both the nostrils up to 2 to 3 centimetres without touching the swab head. Roll the swab five times inside each nostril and dip the swab stick inside the tube, Then pinch the tube at the bottom and swirl the nasal swab for a few times.
The swab stick has to be broken from the breakpoint and the tube must be sealed. Now, take out the test card and add two drops of the tube liquid on it. Wait for 15 minutes for the results to appear.
After 15 minute, a pop-up will be raised on the app and the result will be available.
WATCH | How To Use CoviSelf Home-Testing Kit
According to ICMR, the data on the Mylab app will be centrally connected to a secure server that is connected with the ICMR Covid-19 testing portal.
The advisory also stated that all those who test positive using home-testing kit will be considered as true positives. Those who test negative and still have Covid symptoms may opt for RT-PCR testing.