Why focus on rapid antigen tests when false -ves high: HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Delhi government why it was focusing on increasing the number of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), which has a high rate of false-negatives, as the primary test of COVID-19 infection in the Capital, adding that the government should strictly adhere to testing guidelines as issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said in a scenario where the prevalence rate is higher than 22 per cent, how could the Delhi government go with RAT as its front line test and RT-PCR being recommended only for symptomatic patients.

The high court was of the view that in light of the NCDC sero survey report and the high rate of false negatives of RAT, RT-PCR tests, whose numbers were plummeting, should be ramped up.

It said that while there were 54 labs, both public and private, in Delhi which are capable of carrying out RT/PCR tests and have a combined capacity of 11,000 tests per day, between July 15 to July 23 the number of RT/PCR tests per day have not even crossed 6,000. The high court said, "ICMR never said that RT-PCR, which is the gold standard test, be replaced with RAT."

The Delhi government additional standing counsel Satyakam told the bench that the health department was strictly adhering to ICMR guidelines which say that people testing negative for RAT but showing Influenza-like Illness (ILI) have to undergo RT-PCR.

The stand was opposed by advocate Rakesh Malhotra, whose plea for increasing the testing numbers in the Capital and getting speedy results was being heard by the court.

The Delhi government had also included SARI (Severa Acute Respiratory Illness) in its list of high-risk group individuals who have to first undergo RAT. ICMR, represented by central government standing counsel Anurag Ahluwalia, told the bench that it had never recommended SARI for RAT and that it was not similar to ILI.

Dr Nivedita Gupta from ICMR also told the court that it never said asymptomatic RAT negative persons should not undergo RT-PCR testing, it only said the symptomatic RAT negative patients should be given priority.

The high court directed the Delhi government to delete SARI from its office orders of July 5 and July 9 which give a list of high-risk group individuals who have to first undergo RAT.