Private labs to be allowed to test Covid-19 but ‘not without prescription’

As per the guidelines, lab testing should only be offered when prescribed by a qualified physician .

On Tuesday, India said it had initiated talks with 51 accredited private laboratories in a bid to widen the diagnosis protocol for tackling coronavirus in the country.

People seen wearing protective masks as precautionary measure following multiple positive cases of coronavirus in the country, at Karol Bagh in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

“We are in the process of engaging private NABL [National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories] accredited laboratories for carrying out testing of Covid-19 cases,” director-general of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) Balram Bhargava said during a press conference yesterday.

“We appeal to all private laboratories to offer Covid-19 diagnosis free of cost,” he added.

The ICMR on Tuesday issued a release ‘Strategy of Covid-19 testing in India’ and laid down guidelines for private sector laboratories that intend to initiate Covid-19 testing.

- As per the guidelines, lab testing should only be offered when prescribed by a qualified physician as per ICMR guidance. The latest revised version of the guidelines must be followed.

- Standard operation Protocol (SOPs) will be shared by the ICMR as soon as the concerned private lab procures the primers, probes and reagents

- Adoption of commercial kits for testing should be based on validations conducted by lCMR-National Institute of Virology (NlV): Pune.

- Appropriate “biosafety and biosecurity” precautions should be ensured during sample collection. Alternatively, the ICMR suggests the creation of a “disease-specific separate collection site”.

- Private labs must ensure immediate/real-time reporting of initiation of contact tracing and other research activities to the state government and other authorities.

- Private labs are urged to offer Covid-19 diagnosis at no cost