P Chidambaram welcomes ICMR's 'rapid antibody tests' advice to government on Coronavirus

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday hailed the Indian Council Medical Research's (ICMR) advisory of conducting rapid anti-body tests and remarked that this 'advice was overdue'. He stated that the Congress working committee in its resolution had pointed out that limited testing was "a flawed strategy" and that "extensive and aggressive testing" was the way to reign-in control of the global pandemic. "A lockdown will be effective only if we TEST, TEST, DETECT, ISOLATE and TREAT. That is the lesson from Japan, South Korea and Singapore," he added. 

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ICMR issues advisory for rapid anti-body tests

The Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday issued an advisory to start the use of rapid anti-body tests in Coronavirus hotspots for fast detection of positive cases. These tests would be carried out in areas reporting clusters (containment zone) and in large migration gatherings or evacuee centres. An added advantage of these tests is that results are available in 15-30 minutes, just like regular blood tests. The decision for recommending these tests was taken at an emergency meeting of the National Task Force held recently.

(With Agency Inputs)

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