INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESEARCH
Strategy for COVID19 testing in India (Version 5, dated 18/05/2020)
- All symptomatic (ILI symptoms) individuals with history of international travel in the last 14 days.
- All symptomatic (ILI symptoms) contacts of laboratory confirmed cases.
- All symptomatic (ILI symptoms) health care workers / frontline workers involved in containment and mitigation of COVID19.
- All patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).
- Asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case to be tested once between day 5 and day 10 of coming into contact.
- All symptomatic ILI within hotspots/containment zones.
- All hospitalised patients who develop ILI symptoms.
- All symptomatic ILI among returnees and migrants within 7 days of illness.
- No emergency procedure (including deliveries) should be delayed for lack of test. However, sample can be sent for testing if indicated as above (1-8), simultaneously.
NB:
- ILI case is defined as one with acute respiratory infection with fever ≥ 38◦C AND cough.
- SARI case is defined as one with acute respiratory infection with fever ≥ 38◦C AND cough AND requiring hospitalization.
- All testing in the above categories is recommended by real time RT-PCR test only.
- All changes incorporated in these guidelines as compared to the previous version have been indicated in bold.