Rajasthan Stops Use Of COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits, Says Results Inaccurate

Jaipur:

The Rajasthan government has stopped using the Rapid Testing Kits for coronavirus after they delivered inaccurate results. The Centre as well as the country's nodal testing organisation, the Indian Council of Medical Research, have been informed about the matter, the government said.

The rapid test kits had only 5.4 per cent accuracy, state health minister Raghu Sharma told reporters today.

Around 170 tests were conducted in the State's hotspots, starting with Jaipur, since Friday, he said. The kits were also used for testing of patients who have already tested positive for coronavirus. But the rapid test kits found them negative, which raised questions about the credibility of these kits, the minister said.

"As per the advice of the committee, we have stopped testing from the rapid testing kits. We have written to the ICMR about it and their response is awaited," the minister said.

Rapid testing kits take roughly 15 minutes to deliver results, compared to the currently used RT-PCR tests, which are conducted in laboratories and take around 6 hours.

Since last month, after the ICMR issued tenders for the procurement of 5 lakh antibody test kits, scores of companies -- domestic and international – are queuing up to provide rapid testing kits to India.

The slow pace of the current testing system and inadequate number of laboratories have kept the rate of testing very slow in the country. Aggressive testing and subsequent quarantine is the only way to gain the upper hand over the virus, the World Health Organisation has said.

The ICMR has recommended that every resident in coronavirus hot-spots, or areas with a large number of cases, will be tested with a fast-track kit.

India has procured around 5 lakh rapid test kits, most of which are from China.

World

Coronavirus has spread to 185 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 24,76,854 and 1,70,299 have died; 16,59,795 are active cases and 6,46,760 have recovered as on April 21, 2020 at 8:30 am.

India

In India, there are 18,601 confirmed cases including 590 deaths. The number of active cases is 14,759 and 3,252 have recovered as on April 21, 2020 at 8:00 am.