Covid-19: India's flimsy antigen testing regime 'like flipping a coin'

Between 25-30 per cent of the country's daily tests now are rapid antigen tests, Balram Bhargava, the director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, told reporters

India’s bid to control its surging virus infections by increasing the use of fast but less sensitive tests could actually be making things worse for the nation.

With one of the world’s fastest-growing epidemics but also one of the lowest testing rates, India in late June started to use quick antigen tests to ramp up detection. But the tests, which can report false negatives as much 50 per cent of the time, threaten to obscure the true picture of its outbreak, further challenging containment efforts.

Between 25-30 per cent of the country’s daily tests now are rapid antigen tests, Balram