COVID 19: WB govt identifying areas for rapid antibody testing

The West Bengal government has started identifying areas where it will undertake rapid antibody testing of suspected coronavirus patients, officials said on Monday.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given its consent for such testing in coronavirus clusters and hotspots.

A rapid test, which is a screening test, can detect if a person has COVID-19 with a prick of a needle on the finger and the result can be obtained in just 30 minutes, the official said.

All the positive cases will, however, have to be reconfirmed by testing the swab samples.

"As soon as the areas are identified, we will decide on the next step to start rapid testing, a state health department official said.

At present, there are at least 30 National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration (NABL) accredited laboratories in Kolkata that have the facility for rapid testing, he added.

Even before the ICMR gave the nod, some private laboratories in the city had started procuring necessary equipment for rapid testing.

According to the latest ICMR advisory, rapid antibody testing would be undertaken in all areas reporting clusters of COVID-19 positive cases.

The test will also cost less than what is incurred on testing swab samples, the official said.