The self use test kit for Covid-19 named CoviSelf will now enable individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed cases as per ICMR guidelines to test themselves for the virus without the need for sample collection by healthcare professionals.
Pune based Mylab Discovery solution will launch the country’s first self use rapid antigen test kit worth Rs.250 Per pack.
The Indian Council of Medical Research has cleared the product and will soon be available in the market. This product is expected to ease the test for the infection and will be beneficial in early detection and treatment of the disease.
Individuals will have to upload the test results in the app available on Google Play store or App store . The 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. ICMR advisory said that all the data will be eventually stored there.
Named CoviSelf, the self-use test can be used by symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed cases as per ICMR guidelines without the need for sample collection by a healthcare professional. People can purchase these kits from any pharmaceuticals or online stores without any medical prescriptions. This will reduce the pressure on the workers in the labs across the country who have been tirelessly working to test the symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.
The ICMR advisory stated that all the individuals tested positive with the kit need not get tested again as the result would be considered as final. However, all RAT negative symptomatic individuals will be treated as suspect Covid-19 cases . These individuals will have to maintain home quarantine until the lab results are confirmed and will be requested to follow all the required measures.
Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director of Mylab discovery solutions told that With CoviSelf, they are sharing the power of testing early with the citizens. It will save thousands of lives.He also added that for a country like India, they will make millions of kits available at fraction of the cost of such kits in the US.
Each kit will be provided with all testing materials, instructions to use (IFU) leaflet and a biohazard bag to ensure that the kits are safely disposed. The test is designed to be done using nasal swab (not the deep nasopharyngeal swab) to reduce the discomfort. Results will be available within 15 minutes of testing.
Sujit Jain, who is the Director of Mylab stated that Most western countries have allowed self-test for their citizens and consider it as a powerful tool to break the chain. This easy-to-use test combines with Myab’s AI-powered mobile app so that a user can know his/her positive status, submit the result to ICMR directly for traceability, and know what to do next in either case of result. They are sure this small step will be a big leap in mitigating the second and subsequent waves.
The company will start shipping out tests within a few days. Mylab current production capacity is 70 lakh tests per week. The company has decided to increase the testing capacity to one crore in 14 days.
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