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CMR has approved a home-based testing kit for Covid-19. It is a home antigen testing kit that is only advisable for symptomatic individuals and people who have come in contact with an already infected person. ICMR gave a green signal on Wednesday. As per the statement given by the medical body, " The ICMR has made it clear that only symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of the people who tested positive in the laboratory should use the home test "Indiscriminate testing is not advised". Further also it also said that the patient's confidentiality will be fully maintained. 

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) "All individuals who test positive may.be considered as true positives and no-repeat testing is required….All symptomatic individuals who test negative by RAT should get themselves immediately tested by RTPCR". It further added that The CoviSelfTM (pathoCatch) COVID19 OTC Antigen LF device was created in Pune based Mylab Discovery solutions ltd.

According to ICMR the home test should be conducted according to the process detailed in an app that should be downloaded from the Google play store or Apple store. The mobile app is a comprehensive guide of the testing procedure and will provide a  positive or negative test result to the patient. All users are advised to click a picture of the test strip after completing the procedure and with the same mobile phone. Where data from the phone will be centrally captured in a secure server that is connected to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Covid-19 testing portal, where it will be shared.

Currently, this testing kit will not be available in the market immediately and it will take some time to be widely available. With this approval, ICMR makes testing much easier now.