TN government revises covid testing guidelines
As Tamil Nadu witnesses a declining trend in the COVID-19 cases, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine issued revised guidelines for testing for the infection.
In community settings, only symptomatic individuals should be tested and routine screening is not required. In hospital settings, symptomatic cases are required to be tested. Asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical or non-surgical invasive procedures including pregnant women in or nearing labour and are hospitalized for delivery should not be tested unless symptoms develop.
The guidelines specified that asymptomatic individuals in community settings and patients who stand discharged as per home isolation guidelines need not be tested. The test is also not required for a patient being discharged from a COVID-19 facility as per revised discharge policy.
For the travellers, individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel are also not required to be tested. For international travellers, all travelers should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against COVID-19.