The Kerala state government has ordered to replace RT-PCR test with antigen test while discharging the covid-19 patients. The decision will enhance the discharging process and will lessen the burden on covid-19 treatment centres.
The new strategy of using antigen test instead of RT-PCR has been introduced after an analysis of epidemiology of patients in the state. “It is essential that the technical strategies and guideline are refind biased on the knowledge for control and prevention of disease as well as for efficient management of resources,” the order said.
The order was issued in the wake of new guidelines introduced by WHO and the government of India. “It is a good decision that will help offload the burden on covid-19 treatment facilities. As per ICMR recommendation, asymptomatic patients can be discharged after 10 days even without testing. In Kerala, we are testing patients as an additional precaution,” Times of India quoted Dr K P Aravindan, health expert, as saying.
“At the same time, collectors of some of the districts are instructing those who have completed 14 days of quarantine to continue the same for another fortnight. This will force the public to hide the details regarding their symptoms, travel history etc. Similarly, Thrissur district collector is leant to have plans to use asymptomatic health worker for setting up covid first line treatment centres. Government should intervene to stop such decisions of the district administration,” he added.
With the recovery rate falling in comparison to new cases recorded everyday, the government has decided to switch to antigen test. RT-PCR tests while can take up to two or three days, antigen tests can provide rapid results in 30 minutes. Moreover, antigen test is way cheaper than RT PCR.
For Antigen test, professionals collect a nasal swab, which is then immersed in a solution that deactiavtes the virus. A few drops of this solution are then put on a test striP. The whole process should be done withing a hour of immersion of the nasal swab in the solution. If a person is infected with coronavirus, the test lines will appear on the paper strips in 15 minutes.
However, antigen test has been reported to result in false negative reports many times, leaving the room for doubt.