NEW DELHI: The ICMR on Wednesday issued an advisory for the use of a home testing rapid antigen testing kit 'Coviself', developed by Mylab Discovery Solutions, for those with the symptoms of coronavirus.
Using the kit, people can collect their own nasal swab and check the results within minutes.
The health research body, however, said that this kit should only be used by symptomatic people and close contacts of lab confirmed cases while its indiscriminate use is discouraged.
For using the kit, users will need a mobile app, that works as a comprehensive guide for the testing procedure and will provide a positive or negative test result to the patient, said the advisory.
“Presently, CoviSelf Covid19 OTC Antigen LF device manufactured by Mylab Discovery Solutions, Pune, Maharashtra has been validated and approved,” said ICMR.
It added that all users are advised to click a picture of the test strip after test procedure and data in the app of the mobile phone will be centrally captured in a secure server which is connected with the ICMR Covid-19 testing portal, where the information will be stored.
However, it assured that patient confidentiality will be "fully maintained".
Also, as per the health research agency, all individuals who test positive may be considered as true positives and no repeat testing is required.
However, those with symptoms who test negative have been recommended to undergo RTPCR test immediately as “RATs are likely to miss few positive cases presenting with a low viral load.”
It was also asserted that those testing negative, should treat themselves as suspected cases while awaiting their RTPCR test results, and should follow home quarantine guidelines.