Pune's Mylab Discovery Solutions on Thursday launched India's first-ever self-testing kit for COVID-19, which has received the approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
"This test is for self-use. If you test positive via this there's no need for the RT-PCR test as per ICMR. Any adult can use this kit by reading our manual," Director of Mylab Discovery Solutions, Sujeet Jain told ANI.
"It takes 2 minutes to conduct the test and 15 minutes to get the result. It will be available by end of next week in more than 7 lakh pharmacies and our online pharmacy partners across India. Our target is to reach 90 percent pin codes in India," informed Jain.
The COVID testing kit can be used by any common person at home without the assistance of any lab or health official. The kit named 'CoviSelf' delivers the result just in 15 minutes.
The kit will cost Rs 250 in the market.
While speaking to ANI Sujit Jain, Director of My Lab Discovery Solutions said, "This kit is the result of hard work of six months and it ensures complete safety. Anybody having a basic knowledge can also get this test done at home." "As per ICMR guidelines, if anybody gets tested positive with this test, he/she does not need to do RT-PCR test again. This is the first-ever self-testing kit approved by ICMR in India,' he added.
Yesterday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that only symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of COVID-19 positive patients are advised for home testing by Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).
"Home testing by RAT is advised only in symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of laboratory-confirmed positive cases. Indiscriminate testing is not advised. Home testing should be conducted as per the procedure described by the manufacturer in the user manual (pictorial and video link of the user manual is provided below against the name of the approved test kit)," stated the ICMR advisory.
ICMR suggested users download the home testing mobile app on their smartphones and said the app is a comprehensive guide of the testing procedure.
