New Delhi: District authorities in Delhi and Gurugram have been issuing warnings to pathology labs, barring them from conducting repeat RT-PCR tests on people who have already tested positive for Covid-19 by either RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs).
RT-PCR is considered the gold standard for Covid testing. A person who has tested positive for Covid-19 may seek a second test after recovery, for example.
The warnings stem from guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on 4 May that seek to optimise India’s testing resources and ease the burden on path labs amid the second Covid wave.
The strain on India’s testing framework has resulted in reports of patients facing delays getting tested for Covid following infection, or test results arriving late, thus delaying treatment.
On 9 May, India conducted over 15 lakh tests across 2,515 labs in the country. As many as 3,66,455 tested positive.
In a warning issued to private labs on 9 May, the Southwest Delhi district said action will be taken “under the relevant rules… against the labs which are indulging in money making business in this pandemic situation”.
“All labs are strictly abide (sic) to these guidelines and protocols….we are continuously watching your RT-PCR entries and as per directions action would be initiated against defaulters,” district magistrate Naveen Aggarwal wrote.
On Saturday, the Gurugram civil surgeon issued a similar warning.
“It is imperative to optimise RT-PCR testing and simultaneously increase availability of testing for all citizens. Hence, RT-PCR must not be repeated on any individual who has tested positive earlier, even by antigen test. Any violation of the guidelines will be dealt seriously as per the Epidemic Act,” said the circular, released by the health department.
Also Read: RT-PCR, antigen, antibody, TrueNAT — all you need to know about the different Covid tests
‘Need to focus on active cases’
Speaking to ThePrint, North Delhi District Magistrate Isha Khosla said they are also considering issuing a formal warning.
“We have already told labs verbally but haven’t sent anything in writing yet. We have to do this to ensure qualitative contact tracing. The test can also pick up dead virus, and in such cases our efforts are wasted. Our focus needs to be on active cases,” she added.
Southeast Delhi DM Vishwendra said, “We will evaluate the situation and then make a decision about this.”
Northwest Delhi District Magistrate Cheshta Yadav said they would not send out an advisory as the ICMR has already issued guidelines on testing.
“We will follow the ICMR’s guidelines. It isn’t the prerogative of the district magistrate given there are already guidelines regarding this.”
The New Delhi and North East Delhi districts have not sent out a warning letter either, chief district medical officers in the two areas told ThePrint.
The ICMR guidelines
Revising its testing strategy on 4 May, the ICMR said “at present, the laboratories are facing challenges to meet the expected testing target due to extraordinary case load and staff getting infected with Covid-19”.
“In view of this situation, it is imperative to optimise the RT-PCR testing and simultaneously increase the access and availability of testing to all citizens of the country,” it added.
The foremost recommendation was not to repeat RT-PCR tests on individuals who had tested positive once.
The ICMR also advised against re-testing patients who are being discharged from hospitals, and urged states not to impose compulsory testing on healthy people embarking on inter-state travel.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Rapid antigen — why the less preferred Covid test has now become ICMR’s go-to option