SHILLONG: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revised its strategy to fight the spread of coronavirus on Saturday and even the criteria for test of people suspected of having COVID-19 has been updated in NEIGRIHMS.
Following the allegations that tests are not being done in the institute as they are using the old criteria which asks whether a person has a travel history, officials from the institute on Saturday said that the testing criteria was updated on Friday after ICMR sent the new criteria.
Earlier, concerns were raised over the old criteria.
In its updated strategy, the ICMR said that all hospitalised patients with severe acute respiratory illness, shortness of breath and having fever and cough will now be tested for COVID-19 infection.
The new ICMR guidelines also said asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between day 5 and day 14 of coming in his/her contact.
The new strategy aims to contain the spread of infection more effectively and to provide reliable diagnosis to all individuals meeting the inclusion criteria of COVID-19 testing.
Till now, all asymptomatic individuals who undertook international travel in the last 14 days and developed symptoms, all symptomatic contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases and all symptomatic health care workers were being tested for the infection as per the guidelines.
When asked why is isolation ward below private ward and oncology ward in the same building, NEIGRIHMS director, Dr DM Thappa said, “ You tell me where are the other hospitals in the city keeping their patients and tell me whether Meghalaya government has made any special arrangements to keep patients”. On being asked why is the OPD not closed in the institute and why so many patients are still coming for other ailments, he said that the institute would follow whatever directions are being issued by the Ministry of Health.
He also said that the institute has to take care of the patients as it has been asked by the Ministry and the institute will see how the situation evolves to take decisions accordingly.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner and Secretary of Health Department, Sampath Kumar on Saturday informed that there were two people with travel history who had gone for check up to NEIGRIHMS adding that both of them did not have symptoms of coronavirus.
However, they were both advised by the doctors for home quarantine and isolation.
