Coviself

Why in news?

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved the first home-based test kit for COVID-19.

About Coviself:

• This is India’s first self-use test kit and is manufactured by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions.
• It is a rapid antigen test kit (RAT) which are generally considered less sensitive than lab-based RT-PCR tests.
• This means it can show false negatives in case of low or mild infection. The results are more accurate in case of a high viral load.
• The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the market availability of the home test kit and it is likely to hit the markets within a week.
•  The test kit is considered to be extremely simple to use and is a non-biohazard. It also comes with a disposal bag.

?Who can use it?

• As per the directive of the ICMR, the test kit should only be used by those who have COVID-19 symptoms or have come in contact with laboratory-confirmed positive cases.
• In case you have symptoms but test negative with the RAT kit, you should get an RT-PCR test from the lab.
• Individuals who will test positive through the RAT kit would be considered as true positives and would not require repeat testing.
• In case of a positive result, individuals would be treated as suspect COVID-19 cases and are advised to follow home isolation protocol.

?How to use it?

• The test kit comes with a pre-filled extraction tube, a sterile nasal swab, one test card, and a biohazard bag.
• To use the test kit, the individual will first have to download a home-testing mobile app called Mylab Coviself, from Google Play Store and Apple Store.
• The app provides complete guidelines on how to use the testing kit and how to read the test result.

Prelims Question

India’s first home based self-use test kit for covid-19 detection is called:
(a)Coviself
(b)Covihome
(c)Coveasy
(d)Covbeater

Answer to prelims question: A